


Colliding Worlds

by BekahRose



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, Multi, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-04-14
Updated: 2010-07-03
Packaged: 2017-10-08 22:46:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 59,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/80274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BekahRose/pseuds/BekahRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On June 23rd 1999, Sirius Black fell through The Veiled Archway in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, London. The Order of the Phoenix, along with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna as well as the rest of the Wizarding world, believed him to be dead - due to Bellatrix Lestrange's Unforgivable Curse. But what the Wizarding World doesn't know is, that archway doesn't lead to just anywhere… It leads to the Hellmouth in Sunnydale California. What they also don't know is that… Sirius is far from dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beyond the Veil

**Author's Note:**

> The Potter-verse time-line has been fudged slightly for the sake of the story, this includes Harry's birth year as 1984, instead of 1981.

He had been floating aimlessly for what felt like forever. At the time he'd taken the fall, it had been a good plan, a marvellous plan even; one he was sure Dumbledore would praise him for when he returned to Grimmauld Place. But then, he'd lost his grip on the arch and started to fall. The voices he heard had, at times seemed to surround him, as though they were only inches away, but then he'd drift on and they'd fade. He was positive Dumbledore would find some way to get him out, perhaps even Remus would stick his head through the curtain and call to him to stop being a complete and utter prat and get back to the ministry. However, the further he drifted, and the longer he drifted the more his heart sank. Slowly the veil between Sirius and the Ministry of Magic disappeared completely from view and the voices within the Department of Mysteries faded away to nothing.

Just when Sirius had given up ever getting out of the void he'd fallen into, he came to a jarring halt and landed flat on his backside in the middle of an all too neat living room floor. Squeezing his eyes shut to keep from being blinded by the bright light that had all of a sudden appeared, Sirius missed the bewildered looks of those he had fallen in on.

It took Rupert Giles only a few seconds of stunned disbelief before he realized what had happened; his eyes glanced at the body lying crumpled in his living room then quickly to the mirror that stood beside his front door.

"Uhh, Giles," Giles quickly drew his gaze from the mirror; "You do realize a man just fell from no where onto your floor, don't you?" Willow Rosenberg was looking from Giles to the tiny blond who'd already taken it upon herself to approach the 'man' in question, a stake clutched tightly in her small fist.

"Hmmm?" he had gone back to looking at the mirror, "Yes Will - Buffy!" He moved quickly across the small space and grabbed her arm, pulling her back from the grumbling figure on the floor.

"Giles!" the small blond whirled on him, her eyes flashing with a mix of concern and anger.

"We do not stake people who just… fall in-into our homes." He stepped in front of her as Sirius began to get up, his hands rubbing at his face. "C-can we help you?" He asked cautiously, his brain already working overtime in case this turned out to be a threat to his family.

Sighing, Buffy threw her hands up in the air before tucking the stake back into her pocket, she knew Giles could handle himself, she'd seen it often enough, but still… the stranger now in his living room could be dangerous. "For all we know, he could be some demon sent to kill the Slayer," she hissed, her eyes trained on the man in front of them.

So focused on what could happen, Buffy didn't notice her Watcher stiffen at the sight before them, but Xander did, "Uh, Buffy?"

"No Xander, I'm right and you know it. How many good things, demon or otherwise just fall into Giles' -"

"Leave." Giles didn't have to look directly at them for them to know whom he was talking to.

"No Giles." Buffy's arms were folded across her chest, the glare that sent demons and humans alike scattering far and wide burned into the back of his head. "We're not leaving you to get beaten to a pulp… or worse." Willow and Xander on the other hand were half way to the front door. They knew that tone of voice and knew that it was one not to be trifled with.

Turning on his heel, Giles hefted Buffy over his shoulder, the move had taken her by surprise, and though she knew that she could break his hold, the possibility that she could seriously hurt Giles was not one she was willing to entertain. He smiled apologetically at Xander and Willow as he set Buffy outside the door. "This does not concern you… any of you. Now please, for once do as I say and leave." He looked down at his Slayer, "I'll be fine. I promise." Stepping back inside, he shut the door on all three of them and turned back to face Sirius.

"Hello Rupert," a flood of relief had washed over Sirius the moment he'd seen the all too familiar pair of green eyes. It meant that he was not completely lost, and that he was in the company of a friend.

"_Accio_ Wand!" Giles' strong voice rang out through the apartment only moments before a long, thin piece of oak came streaking towards his outstretched hand from the loft. Clutching it, he made a small motion towards the curtains and they slid closed, a second motion towards the door and the sounds that filtered in from outside became muffled. When he was sure no one could see in and no one could hear, he held his wand and aimed it at Sirius. "You're supposed to be in prison."

Sirius felt some of the comfort he had at being with an old friend fade away, he knew that look, had seen that look often during the war that had killed many of their friends. "That was no prison… that was hell."

Giles continued to eye the man, a part of him saddened by the whole affair. At one point, Sirius Black had been on of his best friends, but in the end, he had betrayed not just Giles, but their entire circle of friends; including Giles' cousin James. Slowly, he started to circle Sirius; his eyes hard and cold. It was something he'd never be able to forgive the man for; giving Voldemort James and Lily's where-a-bouts. That night Giles had lost much more then a cousin, he'd lost the brother and sister he'd never had, along with Harry, their son. "How did you escape?" He let his gaze flicker to the other man's wand, which to Giles' amazement hadn't moved from Sirius' side.

"Padfoot," he gave by way of explanation, "But Rupert, please hear me out." He looked at the man he'd considered family ever since he'd first stumbled into his carriage on the Hogwarts Express their first year.

"Hear you out?" Giles all but roared, "You betrayed us Sirius, you betrayed your best friend, then you added to that by killing Peter. God only knows what's happened to Remus and Izzy, or did you hunt them down before coming here and finish them off as well?" He shook his head, "We trusted you Sirius, Lily and James trusted you. You were family and you turned on us," Giles' voice had become colder, "I suppose your mother is incredibly proud, killing the mud-blood and blood traitors," he spat the words out as though they left a foul taste on his tongue, "would have earned your return to the family tree no doubt."

"Rupert, you know I would never-" Sirius began.

"But you did! You were the one who gave away the Hollow! You allowed my cousin and his wife to be slaughtered! And what of Harry, Sirius, did you think about him? He's spent sixteen years living with that... woman and her family! You were his Godfather! And because of you, he's grown up without his parents, with-without his family." Giles raised his wand a little higher. "I will not let you hurt anyone else."

"Rupert! Please!" Sirius' eyes were wide with terror, and he began talking as fast as he could, "It wasn't me. There was a change at the last minute... Peter was their Secret Keeper, not me. Ask Albus if you must, ask Remus. But I swear to you, I am innocent."

Rupert Giles could not believe his ears, Peter Pettigrew, Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter? Not in a million years. "You're lying. James would have told me had there been a change like that."

Sirius shook his head, "There wasn't time Rupert, you had just left for the Academy, Alice and Frank had been placed in St. Mungo's…" He sighed, "Regulus had come to the Order, seeking help, or rather, he'd come to me seeking help." He was exhausted, mentally and physically.

"What do you mean Regulus had come looking for you?" Giles' wand wavered slightly, "Regulus was one of his, why would he need your help unless you were in on it too?"

"He wanted out, he'd seen what Bellatrix had done to Alice and Frank, he knew what Voldemort was planning to do with Lily, James and Harry." Sirius looked away, "He knew what Voldemort was planning for me."

Giles' wand hand fell to his side, "What do you mean he knew what Voldemort was planning for you?" His face still held some of the rage he felt towards his former friend, but his eyes had taken on a curious expression.

"I mean exactly that Rupert, Regulus told me… something had gone wrong with a necklace. When he came to me, he was ill; he could barely keep his head up. He'd gone out with some of the others, and something just…" Sirius took a deep breath, shaking his head. What he would say next could very well be the end of him. "He was almost in a stupor when he spoke to me, but Regulus told me that Voldemort, along with Severus, Lucius and Bellatrix thought I would be a sure bet on gaining any and all information on Lily and James' where-a-bouts. He told me how they planned to use the Cruciatus Curse on me to find out about the Hollow.

"With that information, did you honestly think I'd want to put my friends… my family… in that kind of danger?" He shook his head; "I convinced James and Lily not long after that to name Peter as their secret keeper. After all, who would expect poor, simpering Peter Pettigrew, James' long standing admirer to be not only be their keeper, but to turn on someone he would bend over backwards for if the opportunity appeared?" He rolled up the sleeves of his robe, "I don't bear their mark Rupert, and I never have." He looked back up at his old friend, letting the sincerity of his words shine in his eyes.

Giles shook his head, "But that night… you killed twelve muggles and Peter. That alone…"

"I didn't kill anyone!" Sirius all but roared, "I managed a single cutting curse before I was Stupefied, I watched as Peter blew up twelve muggles… all eye witnesses to what had happened before he turned into that damn rat and ran off." He clenched his fists as anger at that night welled up inside of him. "He spent twelve years playing the dutiful pet to a young friend of Harry's." Sirius let out a low growl at the thought of the snivelling little bastard, "Ask Harry, he was with Remus and I the night we exposed Peter."

Giles' shoulders slumped, could it be true, Peter Pettigrew had betrayed his friends. He lifted his gaze to meet Sirius' and was amazed when the Wizard let him in. Vivid images were displayed clearly for the Watcher to view as he saw fit. The group of them, much younger then they were now, celebrating. A cold cell made of stone and steel, the terrifying sight of a Dementor closing in on him, a young woman with deep, brown hair and fiery brown eyes, laughing and throwing her arms around an equally younger Sirius, and finally… A small, round, blond haired man, his eyes red rimmed, a maniacal grin on his face as he taunted Sirius, howling as his finger was sliced from his right hand before aiming his wand and wordlessly stunning his friend. Giles' face grew pale as he watched the same, round blond man killing twelve innocent bystanders before disappearing in the smoke.

"Enough!" Giles called a halt to the exploration of Sirius' mind, squeezing his eyes shut and turning away to catch his breath.

Sirius shook his head, to clear it. Rupert knew he could have stopped him if he'd wanted, "You needed to see Rupert, and you needed to understand." He moved closer to Giles, tucking his wand back inside his robes. "Are you alright?" His voice was soft as he moved his hand to rest on Giles' shoulder. He could feel the quiet sobs wracking his friend's body and his heart went out to him, fourteen years of suppressed rage and grief was demanding to be let out and even without the use of legillimency, he could tell that the only thing running through Rupert's mind now was killing the son of a bitch who'd had a hand in murdering his cousin, his cousin's wife and raping two of his family from the lives they should have been living.

Turning, Giles threw his arms around Sirius in a brotherly hug, mumbling apologies through his tears before pulling away and offering Sirius a warm, friendly smile. "I-I think some whiskey is called for." He moved quickly, gathering the bottle of scotch and two glasses from their respective shelf and pouring each of them a liberal amount. "It's not Rosmerta's but it will suffice." Handing Sirius one of the glasses, he motioned for him to sit down.

"Thanks." Sirius smiled and raised his glass as he sat down on the sofa, "To old friends."

"To old friends," Giles repeated, sitting down in the well-worn armchair across from him. Giles drained his glass and looked across at Sirius, "How is everyone?" He asked softly, still trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened in the last hour.

"Albus is still very much Albus," he gave Giles a lop-sided smile. "I'm rather surprised you haven't received an Owl from him."

"The last Owl I received from Albus Dumbledore was five years ago, telling me that Harry would be attending Hogwarts after the summer. Two years after that, I was sent here to watch over The Slayer."

"Ah," Sirius nodded in understanding, "I did read in the Quibbler that the current Watcher to the Slayer been sacked by Quentin. No doubt Fudge had a hand in that as well." He shook his head, "Slytherin scum." He looked back at Rupert to see a tiny smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Remus is… Remus; he looks older then he should, much too thin and worries far too much for his own good. I haven't heard or seen Isabella since the day I was arrested, but Remus has told me that she is still the same old Izzy," he got a far-a-way look on his face when he mentioned the young woman, "In all honesty, I've been terrified of seeing her. When I first got out of Azkaban, I didn't want the Dementors going anywhere near her, and as time passed, I didn't want to face the possibility of showing up on her doorstep only to be told to sod off." His grin turned sheepish at the look of reprimand from Giles, "I know I know… she'd want to at least know the truth, which, according to Remus, she knew all along, but still…" He trailed off and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "And finally, Harry. Aside from spending eleven years under the same roof as Petunia Evans and her husband and oaf of a son, he is rather well adjusted and happy… when he's at Hogwarts." Sirius chuckled, "He's the Gryffindor Seeker, and looks every bit like James, save for his eyes. He has Lily's eyes."

Giles beamed, "I thought that might be the case, and what does he know of Voldemort?" His heart lurched at the name.

"Everything, including the truth about Voldemort's past. In five years at Hogwarts, he has defeated Voldemort four times. Even coming face to face with him at the end of last year and surviving to tell the tale."

The glass in Giles' hand dropped to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. "He did what?" Standing up, Giles began to pace, "That's not possible Sirius, Voldemort is dead, he tried to kill Harry and it backfired, killing him instead."

"It's very much real Rupert, last year, Harry was competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, when the cup had been turned into a port key. It took him and another boy, Cedric Diggory to the site of Voldemort's re-birth. With the help of Pettigrew, they used Harry's blood to return Voldemort to full strength." Sirius explained softly, "Voldemort killed the Diggory boy and when he went to kill Harry, Harry fought him off. _Priori Incantatem_." He eyed Giles warily; he didn't need to explain the finer details of the _Priori_, not to Giles.

"Is he alright?" He looked down at Sirius, his face paler then before.

"He is fine, a little guilty for the loss of Cedric Diggory, very much enraged with not just Peter, but Voldemort as well. Not to mention nearly all of the Wizarding Community. Fudge has been getting the Prophet to spit out all kinds of rumours about Harry and Dumbledore's mental stability."

"Dear Lord," Giles muttered, sitting back down on his chair with a thud. "So he's back?" His gaze drifted towards Sirius who nodded, "Dear Lord."

"He had his Death Eaters raid the Ministry this evening; he lured Harry there to retrieve something from the Hall of Prophecies with a fake image of Voldemort killing me. He and his friends gave the Death Eater's a run for their money, by the time The Order and I got there, it was just Harry and Neville." Sirius sighed, "I was in the middle of fighting off Bellatrix when I took a dive, I figured if I hid just inside the curtain long enough to catch my breath, someone would have taken the crazy bitch down so I could get back into the thick of it and make sure Harry was alright. But, I lost my grip, and somehow ended up here."

Giles nodded, "As you would have. Only five people know the truth about The Veil. Myself, the Head of the Watcher's Council - Quentin Travers, Albus Dumbledore, the Minister for Magic and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, you make six. It's the gateway between the Slayer's Watcher and the world in which he comes from. It hasn't been used since my Slayer told the Council she quit… nearly three months ago."

"I'm sure Quentin took that well," Sirius smirked, his eyes shining at the thought of Quentin Travers being told where to shove his job.

"Quite," Giles gave an answering smirk, "I was told by Quentin to remove my end of the gateway several weeks ago, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Good thing I did as well, as now you are here."

Sirius chuckled. "Actually, Rupert… where is here?" He asked, looking around the apartment once more.

Raising his wand, Rupert opened the curtains with a flick of his wrist, and released the sound proofing charm. "Here, is Sunnydale, California." He nodded at the look of astonishment coming from Sirius, "Yes, the Hellmouth…" he looked from Sirius to the door, "Just a moment Sirius." He held up his fingers in a silent count, 'One, two, and three.' The front door burst open and there stood Buffy. "I do hope you have a reason for breaking down my front door?" He asked his voice soft and calm.

"We thought -" a tiny noise came from behind Buffy, interrupting her, "Okay, I thought you were in trouble." Her voice full of indignation, her eyes narrowed when she noticed Sirius sitting on the sofa, his mouth agape. "Instead, once I finally manage to break through the door, I find you sitting here, having a jolly good old time." She turned her glare back to Giles, "Well?"

Sirius did his best, but could not help the bark of laughter that escaped his throat. Standing up, he ignored Giles and Buffy's twin glares of annoyance and turned to face the small crowd that had now formed just inside Giles' living room door. "You must be Rupert's Slayer," he held his hand out to Buffy, "Forgive me for the intrusion; I am Sirius Black, an old friend of Rupert's from his school days."

Buffy looked from Sirius' hand then back up to his face, taking in his haggard appearance. "*You're* a friend of Giles'?" She wasn't buying it, she'd met Ethan, and Phillip, and while Phillip had technically been dead at the time and Ethan was a weasel they both still wore decent clothes, even if they had been lacking in fashion sense, the man before her looked more like a street person then a friend of Giles'.

When it was apparent Buffy wasn't going to shake Sirius' hand, Willow brushed past her and grabbed his hand, giving it a firm shake, "I-I'm Willow," She felt the rush of warm blood creep up her neck and spread into her cheeks when he gave her one of his most charming smiles, "It's nice to meet you, well, it's always nice to meet a friend of Giles', unless you're Ethan Rayne, or like Ethan… Are you like Ethan?" She asked, her cheeks growing warmer as Sirius' smile turned into a smirk as he turned to face Giles.

"She reminds me of Izzy." He turned back to Willow, "It's a pleasure Willow, and to answer your question, I am nothing at all like Ethan Rayne. While I do like to cause a little chaos now and then, I do not worship Janus as he does." He released her hand as a tall, dark haired young man stepped forward, his heart constricting in his chest.

"Xander Harris," the boy gave Sirius a short nod before shaking his hand briefly. "Don't mind Buffy, she's just upset because she didn't get to kick a little ass."

Sirius smiled, though it felt strained, turning his head slightly he caught Giles give a little shake of his head before turning back to Xander, "Buffy… What a… an interesting name." He gave a genuine smile as the young man smirked and stepped back.

"About as interesting as the name 'Sirius'." Buffy ground out between clenched teeth, her 'glare-of-death' now focused on Sirius.

"Actually," Willow began, "Sirius is the name of a star. The dog star if I remember from sixth grade science." She grinned in return to the smile Giles shot her way over the top of Buffy's head.

Sirius couldn't contain the smirk that lit up his entire face; he could clearly see that Giles had his hands full with the small trio that stood before him, turning; he faced Giles and told him exactly that.

"You've no idea." Giles chuckled, sitting back down in his seat, "There are normally more of them, but, sadly Cordelia left for Los Angeles a few weeks ago and Oz -" He was cut off.

"Here." The small man with purple hair announced from the doorway, his gaze locked on Sirius. "Friend of yours?" He asked Giles as he entered the small flat slowly.

Sirius had caught the scent before he turned around, the part of him that was always Padfoot raised his head, growling low in his throat. Moving swiftly, he placed himself between Giles and Oz, and before anyone could guess what was going on, in Sirius' place was a rather large, black dog with it's heckles raised and teeth bared.

"Uh, Giles?" Willow asked softly, her gaze wary as she moved to stand beside Oz when the dog let out a resounding bark.

Buffy looked at Giles pointedly as though to say 'Told you he was dangerous'. Xander just gapped in awe at what was going on. He had never seen a reaction like that to Oz, then again, no one he knew owned a pet of any kind, let alone could turn into a dog. Meanwhile, Giles was chuckling softly as he bent down to run his hands along the dog's silky coat.

"It's alright, he's an Animagus." Giles told the others as if that explained it all. "Sirius," he called softly when the dog didn't seem like he was going to back down. "Padfoot," he grinned when that caught the dog's attention, "It's alright, Oz is safe." He held out his hand and giggled when Padfoot licked said hand. "Go on, it's okay." He nudged Padfoot towards Oz who looked mildly interested at the whole scene.

Oz stepped away from Willow and the others, crouching down and holding his hand out, palm down. Padfoot moved over to him cautiously, sniffing the proffered hand before giving it a solitary lick. Nodding as he stood up, giving the dog's ears a scratch, he looked up at Giles, "He could smell the wolf, couldn't he?"

"I could," Sirius answered as he turned back into his human self. "I'm sorry, but these days one can't be too careful where werewolves are concerned. No offence," he smiled at Oz and held out his hand, "The only one I know of to befriend humans is Moony, and even then he didn't really have a say in the matter." He smirked over at Giles.

"Moony, or Remus rather, is a friend of ours, he was bitten as a child. Sirius here took it upon himself when we started school to find out why he was disappearing once a month to visit sick relatives."

Sirius grinned, "And once we'd discovered, James, Peter and I," he spat Peter's name out, "secretly studied Animagi so we could keep Remus company during the full moon." He smiled at the memory of their first time transforming for Remus, he'd been so shocked and overwhelmed by the whole thing he hadn't been able to speak.

"Uh not to sound like the Spanish Inquisition but who are James and Peter, what's an Animagi, and more importantly, *how* did you get here?" Xander piped up from his place near Giles' desk.

Sirius and Giles shared a look, talking to Giles about the life they lead was one thing, but to bring in muggles and a werewolf would be solely up to Rupert. If he had been here since just after Harry had started at Hogwarts, and they knew nothing of his past, then that was Giles' decision and Sirius respected that. After a few minutes, during which Buffy, Willow, Xander and Oz all stood around in an awkward silence, Giles gave Sirius a curt nod and motioned for the others to find a place to sit.

Taking a deep breath, Sirius gave Giles a sad smile, "This looks like it could take us a while, why don't I just pop through here and organize some refreshments?" He turned on his heel and moved quickly to the kitchen, he'd let Giles take it from the beginning, explaining to them about Hogwarts and Dumbledore and how Sirius had arrived before joining them to explain about Voldemort and the War. He hummed softly to himself as he opened cupboards and draws, searching for a tea tray. But even his humming couldn't completely drown out the conversation being held in the next room, and he had to stop several times to swallow down the lump that formed in his throat when he heard tell of James and Lily. Finally, opening a cupboard above the oven, he felt tears pricking at his eyelids. There, at the very front was the silver tea tray that Lily, Remus, James, Isabella and Sirius had bought Giles just before he'd left for the Watcher's Academy. Engraved on the front was a stag, a wolf, a dog, a rabbit an owl and an eagle. As a rule, Sirius *never* cried, and so chastised himself as he scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. Pulling it down, he set it on the counter top, a quick wave of his wand and the tray was laden with six bottles of butter beer, a bottle of Rosmerta's finest mead and a small plate of sweets.

"Well, here we are," he announced as he came back into the living room, setting the tray down on the coffee table, "Please, help yourselves. Although I do ask that you leave the cockroach clusters for Rupert and me." He chuckled as Giles all but dove for the sweet while the others turned several different shades of green. Rolling his eyes, Sirius reached over to the plate and eyed each of Rupert's friends. Grinning, he handed out the most 'normal' sweets, "A sugar quill for you," he beamed at Willow as he handed over the multicoloured sugar treat, "A chocolate frog for you," he handed Xander a frog, "You may want to be quick about it, and you may want to keep the card," he handed Oz a cockroach cluster, while they had all turned green at the mention of the name, Oz had still managed to look intrigued. Finally, turning to Buffy, he placed a handful of crystallized pineapple in her palm, before settling back with his own cluster.

Giles watched with a smirk as Oz bit into the sweet with no small amount of trepidation before nodding his head and quirking an eyebrow. Though, of all the Scoobies' reactions, Xander's was by far the most amusing. He'd opened the frog's packet carefully as though expecting something as revolting looking as the cockroach cluster, only to sigh in relief when it seemed to be a normal chocolate frog. That was until it tried to make a break for freedom; it jumped out of Xander's hand and clung to his shirt. Xander almost fell out of his seat, yelling in surprise and Willow screamed before shooting out of her seat to the other side of the room. When things had calmed down somewhat, the frog now stuffed in Xander's mouth, Sirius and Giles were still clutching their sides, laughing hysterically.

"Sirius did tell you to be quick about it Xander." He managed, trying to catch his breath, "Whom did you get on your card?" He leant across as Xander held it out to him; "I think the last card I ever got had Morgana on it." He smiled at the sight of the Wizard grinning back at him, "Albus." He sat back in his chair, a bottle of butter beer clutched tightly in his hand. He watched as Sirius handed out the remaining bottles before settling back, "Now, where was I?"

"You were telling us about the mirror over there," Buffy hiked her thumb over her shoulder, "and how it is or was the gate way between us and The Council." Her eyes narrowed at the thought of Quentin Travers and his crew of stodgy old men being able to get in contact with her whenever they liked.

"Ah yes, I think this could be my fault," Sirius smiled apologetically at Giles, who nodded.

"Only a few, very select people know the truth about the Archway," Giles began, "Myself, Wesley, Quentin Travers, the Minister for Magic and Albus Dumbledore whom is responsible for the Enchantments used on the Gateway."

Buffy looked even more annoyed that this information had been kept from her. Especially in light of what had happened in the last several months. "Then how did you know about it?" She asked, glaring at Sirius. It wasn't that she didn't trust Giles' judgment, it was simply that she didn't trust anyone who called themselves Giles' friend, with many thanks to Ethan Rayne.

"Ah," Sirius began, "There was a… scuffle… in the Chamber where the Archway is, and I took a dive so I could get my breath back, I accidentally lost my grip, I floated for a while, hoping Remus or Albus would reach in and pull me up until I landed here in Rupert's flat."

"Uh-huh." Buffy didn't look too convinced, "How do we know you're not just manipulating Giles into telling us a load of crap?"

Giles felt the tips of his ears burn bright red, standing up; he looked directly at Buffy, "Buffy, could I please talk to you for a moment?" He moved down the short hallway to the spare bedroom he used to house the books that had once lived in the High School Library, "Now." He ground out, stopping and waiting for her to move.

Grumbling, she moved after him quickly, slamming the door as she entered the room. "Well, I have a point Giles. For all we know he could be just as much a weasel as Ethan." She folded her arms over her chest and stared pointedly at her Watcher.

"It's endearing that you care for my safety Buffy, but I've known Sirius far longer then Ethan and it is safe to say that I know he is not lying."

Back out in the living room, Sirius looked towards the door that shut on one of his oldest and dearest friends, "Are they always like that?" He asked, turning to face the other three, smiling to see Xander testing out, albeit hesitatingly, one of the cockroach clusters.

"Pretty much," Willow answered, sucking on the tip of her Sugar Quill. "It's gotten worse since we blew up the High School."

Sirius' eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair, "You blew up a High School?"

Willow nodded, "Well, Giles was the one who did the blowing up; we just fought off the vampires."

Sirius was impressed, during their time together at school; people often thought Remus was the most serious, the most level-headed, but that was because not a lot of people took note of Rupert Giles. The studious and quiet Hufflepuff had once confided in Sirius that the Sorting Hat had a terrible time of placing him in a house. He was devoutly loyal to any one he considered friend, incredibly smart and had courage to rival that of a lion. But it had been his loyalty that had one out in the end, swearing that no matter which house he would end up in, he would remain friends with those he'd met on the train, and so the Sorting Hat had cried Hufflepuff – much to the dismay of his cousin and new friends – but in the end that hadn't mattered a lick. So, the news that Rupert Giles, had blown up a school was amazing.

"So, Giles said you and he went to this Hogwarts place together," Xander managed around a mouthful of jelly slug. "He mentioned something about houses, but," he shrugged, "I still don't get it."

Sirius smiled, "Hogwarts is an amazing school, I'm not entirely sure how the process of weeding muggle born children and magical children and squib children out works but, when a child turns eleven, if they have any hint of magical ability, they receive a letter from the school, saying that they've been accepted into Hogwarts. The first years, equivalent to grade six, are sorted into houses. The house you are placed in becomes somewhat of your family while you're there." He could almost hear Remus laughing at him, sounding like McGonagall. "You eat at the same table, you share the same common room, and you live in each other's back pocket for the entire seven years you're at Hogwarts." Yes, there would have definitely been mocking had Remus just heard him.

"But Giles said you weren't in the same House as he was," Willow began, her brow furrowing as she tried to figure it all out.

"We weren't, Rupert was placed in Hufflepuff, his loyalty far outweighing his many other attributes. Most Watchers come from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, though you do get the odd Watcher or two who comes from Gryffindor or Slytherin." He smiled, wondering just what was going on down in the back room with Giles and Buffy, "Quentin, for example comes from Slytherin and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce comes from Ravenclaw, Rupert's grandmother, however, a Watcher and marvellous woman, was sorted into Gryffindor."

"What about Ethan Rayne?" Oz asked softly, sipping at his butter beer.

"Ethan Rayne was a Hufflepuff as well, though I sometimes wonder if the little prat shouldn't have been in Slytherin." He grimaced as he thought of Ethan Rayne, a name he hadn't heard in almost seventeen years. "I was placed into Gryffindor with Rupert's cousin James and our friend Remus."

Oz nodded and looked up as Buffy and Giles walked back into the living room, Giles looking a little too triumphant and Buffy looking very put out.

"I'm sorry if I was rude." She muttered, coming to stand in front of Sirius, "As a rule, I don't tend to like 'surprise' visits from Giles' old friends, they normally end up with someone getting hurt."

Sirius stood up and took Buffy's hand, giving it a warm shake, "That sounds rather fair, especially if you've had any run ins with Ethan Rayne, and from the look on Oz's face when I called him a prat I'd say you've had more then your fair share of problems with him."

Turning his head to look at Giles, he smirked, "There was no need to tell her off Rupert, she's protecting her family." Sitting down again, he conjured up several more bottles of butter beer and two glasses for the mead before pouring himself and Rupert a drink, "In the mean time, why didn't you tell me you'd blown up a school?" He clucked his tongue, "What would Professor Sprout say if she ever found out her dear Rupert had blown up a school?" Sirius laughed as Giles went bright red, his ears turning pink.

Sitting back down Giles became absorbed in staring at the amber liquid of Rosmerta's homemade mead. "The situation called for drastic measures, it was either blow up the school, or watch the world end."

Sirius nodded, "I'm sure you did the right thing, though, when I next see Madame Sprout, I'll be sure to let her know how her dearest Rupert blew up a school."

"You'll do no such thing Sirius Black," Giles looked up and glared at his former friend, taking note of the mischievous look in his eyes, "Or I'll tell her whom it was that snuck into her greenhouse and cast a freezing charm on the mandragora."

Sirius laughed, "You have no proof Rupert. In case you hadn't heard, that night I was studying for my Potions NEWT under the ever-watchful eye of one Remus John Lupin. And he *will* testify to that on a stack of bibles all etched with silver."

Giles shook his head, chuckling softly, The Marauders, still as thick as thieves.

The six of them remained seated in the living room for some time after that, the Scooby's pressing both Giles and Sirius for more information on their lives before Giles had left for the Watcher's Academy and for more information on their school. Even Buffy, after being chastised by Giles for her frosty behaviour towards Sirius had joined in the fun, teasing Giles along with the others when Sirius gave them more information then Giles had been willing to share in all the time they had known him.

It wasn't until the sun had gone down and the need for the lights to be flickered on, that the real trouble began. Buffy and Oz had been the first to notice the pair of bright dark eyes staring at them from the small window. "Giles?" Buffy's voice had gone soft, her hand automatically reaching for the stake she kept hidden in the waistband of her jeans.

Returning from the kitchen, followed by Sirius, both men laden down with more substantial food then sweets, Giles looked up, "Oh dear." He looked to Sirius and nodded to the window, a flash of bluish black plumage made them both turn slightly pale. "Nothing could have happened to Fawkes, surely?" Giles' voice was soft and worried.

"You don't think…" Sirius trailed off, his heart pounding against his ribcage.

"No, I'd have heard something long before now… I'm sure of it." He looked back to the window, "Buffy, could you please open the front door and let him in." Giles set their dinner down on the coffee table and reached for his wand. He watched cautiously as Buffy moved the door, her face a picture of perfect confusion to let the stately looking Raven inside.

It flew straight towards Sirius the moment the door had been pulled open, dropping a thick yellow envelope at his feet before turning to Giles and dropping another. With an impressive caw, it swooped once again and sat on the back of Giles' armchair, watching them with an intense gaze.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked once she'd shut the door and turned back to face them.

"This is Sorrow," Sirius told her, indicating the large black bird, now running his beak through his feathers. "He belongs to Albus Dumbledore, and is only ever used if something terrible has happened, normally a death." He turned to Giles who had bent to pick up his envelope, his hands trembling, "I saw Fawkes only this evening, he was in perfect health, you don't think…" He trailed off again as Rupert skimmed the letter he was now holding in his hand.

"No," both men breathed a sigh of relief. "Fawkes was hurt in an accident, according to Albus," he scanned the letter again, "Everyone is fine, Malfoy has been locked up along with several other Death Eaters, Bellatrix has once again escaped, and," Giles looked up, a small smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth, "Buffy you may want to open that door." He looked at Sirius who was now reading his own letter, colour coming back into his cheeks once more as he read that Harry and Remus, along with the other children and members of the order were all fine, if not a bit worse for wear.

Two seconds later, a rather gorgeous looking Eagle soared into the small flat, aiming straight for Sirius' head as though he were a delicious looking rodent. Xander coughed, Willow gave a small shriek and Sirius looked up, just in time to see brown eyes burning with a fiery rage and a tiny fist coming straight at his face.

"It's alright Buffy," Giles told her softly as she moved to stop the furious woman from beating Giles' friend to a bloody pulp. Stepping away as Sirius hit the hardwood floor, groaning in agony, "Sirius deserved that. Hello Izzy." Giles smiled at the young woman as she stopped, her small fist rose to hit Sirius again.

Isabella Skye was a gorgeous woman, even in a fit of rage. Her long dark hair hung in waves down her back, framing her heart shaped face and setting off her deep brown eyes which held a fire in them only those whom she cared deeply for could see. "Rupert," She smiled brightly at him, throwing her arms around him in a quick hug, "Good to see you, now… if you don't mind," she turned back to Sirius. "Get up before I break my own rule and kick a dog while he's down." Her voice rang out through the apartment; Giles could hear the hurt and love she felt for the man now trying to get back up off the floor underneath the anger.

Sirius stood up, a bruise already forming on his face where her fist had connected, "What in Merlin's name was that for?"

"You know very well what that was for Sirius Black!" Isabella growled, "How dare you take a dive like that! And in front of Harry no less!" She shook her head, "you are a selfish, arrogant, self absorbed bastard." She pointed her wand, "_Levicorpus_!"

Buffy, Willow, Xander and Oz all watched as Sirius was lifted off of his feet and hung upside down, Buffy and Willow trying not to giggle at the look of astonishment on Sirius' face, Xander and Oz both silently deciding that they would never want to cross the formidable woman.

"Rupert," Sirius managed, his face turning crimson as all the blood rushed to his head. "You couldn't give us a hand…"

"No Sirius," Giles cut his friend off, his eyes bright with amusement as he watched Sirius dangle there, "You deserve this, you know you do." He motioned for Isabella to continue, before turning to the others, "Why don't you four go out and patrol," he hurried to continue when Buffy opened her mouth to speak, "The three of us will be here when you return, I'm sure there may actually be more of us when you get back. Proper introductions will be done then." He ushered them out of his apartment, "And Buffy, do be careful." He felt his heart pound when she flashed him her one thousand watt smile.

"Always am, Watcher-mine." She hurried after the others as he shut the door.

"Okay," Xander was the first one to break the silence as they reached the street, "Anyone here think that it's strange that Giles has a friend who can turn himself into a dog, a friend who can turn herself into an eagle and a friend who – no offence Oz – is a werewolf?" He cast a sideways look at each of them.

"None taken." Oz murmured, "Though, his excitement when the werewolf issue first came up now makes some sense."

"I think its kinda neat," Willow smiled, "though, I can't believe Giles didn't tell me about that school. Imagine all the things I could have learnt, in a controlled environment and I wouldn't have to go sneaking around learning things behind Giles' back."

"Compared to hellhounds, master vampires, evil ex-boyfriends and giant snakes, this is definitely one of the less strange days we've had in a long while, although…" Buffy stopped and looked up at the others, "Did anyone else get the idea that there was something Giles wasn't telling us?" The others nodded in quiet agreement before beginning their sweep of the twelve local cemeteries.


	2. Startling Revelation

“Well!” Isabella stood as though her spine was made of steel, her eyes boring into Sirius’ as he dangled in mid-air.

“Isabella will you please just let me down,” he begged, he could feel the blood rushing to his head and knew he’d just as soon fall on his face the minute his feet touched solid ground again.

“Not until you explain to me why you’ve avoided seeing me or contacting me in the last three years.” She ground out between clenched teeth. “I believed in your innocence for twelve years Sirius, I still do, but why is it, that after three years of you being on the run I get a message from Albus and Remus telling me what’s happened to you!” She let out a noise of frustration, somewhere between a growl and a caw before flicking her wand and watching Sirius hit the floor with a loud thud.

Turning away from Sirius, she fumbled in one of the pockets of her robe, before pulling out a small, compact mirror, “Don’t even think about moving Black,” she aimed her wand over her shoulder, “_Petrificus Totalus!_” She smirked as his arms snapped to his sides and his legs clamped together, his face going a stony colour.

“Was that really necessary Izzy?” Giles asked as he caught Sirius from hitting the ground again and propping him up against the wall.

“Probably not,” She let both her arms fall to her sides, “But it will give him a chance to figure out what exactly it is that he’s going to tell me, and for the blood to rush back to his feet.” She turned to face Giles, the corners of her mouth turned down and the heartache she’d felt for fourteen years shining out of her eyes. “He found it in himself to tell Remus and Harry and Dumbledore, but he couldn’t have sent me an owl telling me that he was okay?” She shook her head, “When I read in the Daily Prophet that he had escaped from Azkaban, I was so happy. And a year went by and I thought, alright, he needs to make sure everything is safe before coming back to me and then another year went by and not even so much as a postcard telling me he was okay.” A tear slid down her cheek slowly, “I had been waiting for thirteen years for the little rat bastard to show himself, so I could be with Sirius again; and then when it looks like that could happen… nothing. Not so much as a note saying that he was okay.” She brushed away her tears with the back of her hands, “Finally, after spending last year moping about the Grove, Minerva and Albus contacted me, they needed me to come out here, see if I couldn’t find out what happened to your aunt and uncle. Albus says they had a second son named Alexander before Lily and James got married,” She bit her bottom lip, “apparently the boy was a well kept secret, and shortly after the funerals, Reginald and Celeste moved from England to America – getting their only remaining son away from the Wizarding world.” She watched Rupert carefully for any sign that he knew what she was talking about.

“Have you managed to locate them?” His voice was soft, his uncle and aunt had been missing for nineteen years, nearly twenty; along with his long, lost cousin.

She nodded, “It took some doing, first I had to find their secret keeper, poor Hagrid nearly died when I asked him if he knew where they were.” She grabbed one of Giles’ hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “They passed away when Alexander was five years old. The strain of suddenly changing the way they lived became too much, along with the grief of losing James, Lily and Harry.” She watched the colour drain from Giles’ face, “Hagrid reassured me that they had a proper burial, and, as stated in their will, the boy would go to a regular, muggle family with no knowledge and no ties to the Wizarding world.” She looked up at Rupert, hoping that he would cotton on to where she was trying to lead his thought process.

“Hagrid and Albus arranged everything, the papers, new parents, all the legal documentation. Including the use of a memory charm on the new parents and Alexander and of course there was the matter of getting the boy’s name taken off the list for Hogwarts when he turned eleven.” She smiled sadly and sat down on the edge of the desk, “It’s taken me nearly seven months to try and track him down, Hagrid said Reginald and Celeste had been in New Orleans when they passed away, so I assumed that was where the boy still was, I spent three months searching every part of Southern America for him until I found someone who could give me decent enough information. Since then, I’ve been following one lead after another, finding people that could remember Jessica and Anthony Harris.” She watched as it all dawned on Giles, nodding her head, “Then, tonight, as I was getting ready to go and approach them; I met Sorrow, poor thing must have been exhausted,” She shook her head and reached into her robes, withdrawing an envelope to match the ones Sirius and Giles had received.

_“Dear Isabella, _

_There is no doubt in my mind that you have found the young man Alexander Potter, but I must ask before you encroach upon his adoptive parents that you follow Sorrow to the home of one Rupert Giles. There is someone there whom I think you shall be both happy, yet enraged to see. _

_Sincerely, _

_ Albus Dumbledore.” _

Isabella read the note out loud, shooting a glare in Sirius’ direction, “And that’s not all, listen to this.

_“Dear Izzy, _

_There was a fight this evening at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort’s followers lured Harry there. In the event of the ensuing fight, Sirius fell through a veiled archway – Dumbledore tells me that it leads to Rupert’s new home in _ _ California_ _ – but that is beside the point. Harry thinks that Sirius is dead as no one, as yet, has explained the veil to him, and until Dumbledore explained it to myself, I did as well. _

_When you see him – as I have no doubt you will – please give him a sound rollicking for all three of us. I’ve enclosed an enchanted hand mirror – Sirius’ of course – and have the second one with me, when you’re finally done with him, just contact me via the mirror. I’ll be waiting with Minerva McGonagall and Dumbledore to Apparate to Sunnydale. _

_Give Rupert my best, _

_ Your friend, _

_ Remus Lupin. _

_PS: I’m dreadfully sorry we kept you in the dark for so long.” _

Giles shook his head, “My letter from Albus said almost the same thing. That as soon as you arrived and called them, they would be here; after explaining to us why Sorrow was used instead of Fawkes,” he looked over at Sirius who was sending pleading looks his way, “I’m sure Sirius’ said the same, along with news of Harry, Remus and the others.” Moving over towards the other man, he grinned, “Sorry old friend, but you can stay like that until Remus and the others have arrived. Unless, that is of course, Izzy hasn’t finished with you yet.” He gave the small woman a questioning look.

“Oh… very well,” she lifted her wand and paused, “But I want a thorough explanation when you can talk again!” She gave a small flick of her wand, “_Finite Incantatem!_”

Sirius slumped against the wall as he felt the jinx lift, flexing his fingers and arms; he looked balefully at the woman now glaring at him. “I’m sorry Bella, more then I can possibly say, but when I first escaped from Azkaban, I didn’t want the Dementors hunting you down as well, it was bad enough they were attacking Harry and when they had finally given up, I figured it was easy just to let you be and get on with your life. I made Remus swear he wouldn’t tell you where I was; I made the conscious decision that, after twelve years you’d have moved on and I had no right disrupting that.”

“Moved on!” Isabella screeched, “I promised you the day of your trial, when I saw you last that I will always, always love you Sirius Black, that not even a life time in Azkaban could make me change.” She scowled in disgust, “Even now I still love you, when I very well know I shouldn’t.”

The hopeful look on Sirius’ face did not go unnoticed by either Giles or Isabella, “Isabella, do you --”

“Unless you’d like for me to jinx you again Sirius, don’t speak to me. I’m still beyond pissed off – yes Rupert, I said ‘pissed off’ --” She shot the Watcher a menacing glare, “That you would even consider not letting me know that you’re okay. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to contact Moony and the others.” She held up the small mirror, scowling at the way she looked. Quickly waving her wand over her face, she muttered a small glamour to neaten her hair and get rid of the tearstains and blood shot eyes. “Remus? Remus Lupin, are you there?” She spoke in a clear voice to the piece of glass.

“I take it you’re done with him?” came the soft reply as Remus’ face appeared in the mirror.

“For the time being,” Isabella replied, offering the werewolf a small smile, “Now, hurry up Moony, Padfoot, Rupert and I are waiting to see you.”

“We’ll be there in just a moment, I believe Albus is just getting Harry settled into the infirmary and we’ll be on our way.” Remus flashed Isabella a warm smile, “It’s good to see you again Bella,” he murmured, glancing up at something, or someone she couldn’t see. “See you in a moment.”

The mirror turned back into a normal mirror before three, resounding cracks filled the apartment. Isabella rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Remus in a tight hug, “It has been far, far too long Remus Lupin.” She smiled as she pulled back, “Whatever happened to ‘I’ll come to The Grove every summer, make sure you’re keeping out of trouble’?” She inquired as she stepped back, shaking hands with Minerva McGonagall, “Hello Professor,” she beamed at the other woman who, against all odds, beamed back.

“It’s good to see you again Miss Skye,” she held the girl’s hand a moment longer then necessary before letting her go.

“And, Uncle Albus,” Isabella smiled up into the kind blue eyes, taking both his hands in hers. “I’ve missed you, so has Wimple. He swears I’m not half the master you or my father was, but he’s glad I’m about.” If James having a brother was a well-kept secret, then this was even more so. Albus Dumbledore had a brother, who had a daughter, who had a son, who in turn had a daughter – Isabella – and save for the staff at Hogwarts and their closest friends, the Wizarding world assumed Aberforth Dumbledore was childless.

Dumbledore pulled his great-great niece close, enveloping her in a warm hug. “As I have missed you child, alas things have kept me busy these past years and I am sure that Wimple understands.”

Isabella nodded as she stepped back, allowing Rupert to welcome the three into his home.

Giles let himself get untangled from the brotherly hug he had given Remus, chortling as the other man swore under his breath before turning on Sirius. “Professor McGonagall,” He smiled, “Still as lovely as ever,” his smile turning into a smirk when she blushed.

“Come, come now Rupert, it is Minerva now that you are no longer a student.” He had been one of her favourite pupils – alongside Remus and the other Marauders, and was still as charmingly handsome as ever.

“Albus,” Giles nodded, giving the older Wizard’s hand a shake. “I’m sorry but, I had to explain to Buffy and the others about the Mirror shortly after Sirius arrived.”

“Quite all right Rupert, quite all right,” Albus beamed, his blue eyes taking in the small, but cozy apartment. “I was actually hoping they would be here when we arrived, it would save me having to make a second journey once we return Sirius to Hogwarts.” He eyed Sirius with no small amount of amusement as Remus tried to tell him off quietly.

“I sent them out to patrol just after Isabella arrived, I decided that it would be easier for Sirius to receive his rightful abuse without an audience.” He motioned to the sofa and chairs, “Won’t you please sit down, Sirius kindly supplied us with a bottle of Rosmerta’s finest Mead, we’ll have a drink and then, we can get down to business.”

“Splendid, splendid,” Dumbledore grinned and sat down in Giles’ slightly over-stuffed armchair. He gave his wand a small flick and produced another four glasses. Another small flick and the bottle was floating along, filling – or refilling in the case of Giles and Sirius – everyone’s glasses.

“Uh,” Sirius spoke up softly, having survived a thorough telling off from Remus and a stern look from McGonagall, “Dumbledore, is Harry… does he…” He tried to smile politely at the Headmaster, but knew that it must have looked strained.

“No, he does not know yet Sirius. He spent a good hour railing at me in my office – as he had every right to, before I explained the reason why he was lured to the Department of Mysteries. Then, once I had finished, I sent him off to see Poppy in the hospital wing. It seems Miss Granger was hit with an extremely strong stunning spell, while Mr Weasley was attacked by someone else’s thoughts no less. Miss Weasley suffered a broken ankle, Miss Lovegood had the wind knocked out of her and Mr Longbottom a broken and bloodied nose. But other then that, they are all fine, your cousin is in good health as well, if not a little shaken and vowing to make Bellatrix pay dearly for hurting you. She too, knows the truth of the veil now, as does the rest of the Order.” He watched as Sirius sunk down onto the desk, his entire body sagging with relief. “I have also been informed by Cornelius Fudge that your record has been expunged and all charges against you, dropped. Though I do not expect him to last much longer in the position of Minster of Magic,” his long, silver beard hid a small smile when McGonagall voiced her happiness, “And, I have spoken with the man who will be taking over – Rufus Scrimgeour – he has also, kindly agreed to destroy your records as well.

Remus, Isabella and Giles all shared smiles of relief. There friend was now a free man, to do as he pleased, when it so please him.

“Of course, Harry will have to return to the Dursley’s once a year until he has come of age so that he can be protected from any more attacks from Voldemort. He can, however stay with you in between that time and returning to school.” Dumbledore settled back in his chair, “There will be no arguments Sirius, my word is final.”

Sirius nodded slightly, and Giles could understand his frustration, Petunia Dursley was a wretched woman, made even more wretched by her husband and son. She had, at one point according to Lily, been a very pleasant big sister, always looking out for Lily; always making sure Lily wasn’t being bullied by bigger children… until Lily had received her acceptance letter from Hogwarts. According to Lily that was when Petunia, at the tender age of fourteen had turned her back, pretending that she didn’t even have a younger sister. Jealousy was a curse, and a curse that had rotted Petunia Evans to the very core.

They sipped silently on their mead as Dumbledore and Remus relayed the last of the battle to Sirius, McGonagall, Isabella and Giles; both women crying out loud as Dumbledore told them of Voldemort inside of Harry, Sirius clutched his glass so tightly that it shattered in his hand so that Remus, visibly shaken and much paler then when he arrived set about fixing the cuts and repairing the glass with a softly uttered ‘_Reparo!_’ and Giles sat there as though someone had stolen his breath. When things had calmed down, and their glasses had been refilled, Dumbledore rose and began to pace in front of the mantle.

“I assume you have told Rupert and Sirius why you were in America Isabella?” He looked down at his niece, his penetrating stare holding her gaze.

“Yes Uncle Albus,” she nodded solemnly. “I was on my way to his home tonight when Sorrow caught up with me.”

“And, I assume that, at least you have figured it out Rupert?” He looked to Giles who nodded, “Sirius?” He asked softly, looking at the younger man, his blue eyes shining as comprehension dawned on him.

“I was otherwise occupied when Izzy told Rupert,” He shot her a look, his lip curling slightly, “But I heard… That boy… young man, friends with the Slayer; he said his name was Xander.” Sirius looked up at Dumbledore who inclined his head slightly.

“We call him Xander,” Giles smiled softly; “He is the self professed ‘Zeppo’ of our small little band. But, he is far braver then all of them, including Buffy.” He looked up at the faces around him, “Alexander LaVelle Harris was, according to school records, born on March nineteenth, 1980 . James would have been twenty, or there-abouts when he was born. Uncle Reginald and Aunt Celeste were in their early forties, it was… scandalous. I remember my father telling my mother so, a child at their age.” He smiled slightly.

“Precisely,” Dumbledore nodded, “the reason as to why they went into hiding.” Dumbledore frowned, “When the time came for Celeste and Reginald Potter to be buried, Hagrid and I took it upon ourselves to make sure the boy would be safe, as far away from the Wizarding world as possible. With Voldemort assumed dead, we could not allow Alexander to return to England , for you see, I was unsure whether or not Voldemort was truly, once and for all, finished. It is why Harry was placed with the Dursleys. So, imagine my surprise when I discover four years ago that the boy’s home was located on top of a Hellmouth.” He gave Giles a knowing look.

“You helped push my name up the list didn’t you?” Giles looked across at his former Headmaster, “You were the one responsible for Buffy being here and my being her Watcher.” Giles’ fist clenched tightly.

“I am, but Rupert, do not blame me, you’ve seen yourself what would have happened had she not been here. I believe poor Miss Rosenberg’s own Doppelganger was ripped from her timeline earlier this year before you managed to put her back.” He peered at the Watcher over the tops of his half-moon glasses.

“Yes, sorry.” Giles sat back in his seat as though his teacher had just chastised him. “But I still don’t understand what this has got to do with anything at all. Alexander Harris has shown no magical ability in the three years that I have known him. He is, on all accounts if you say that he is my cousin and James’ brother, a squib. Nothing more, nothing less, and surely, even at the age of five he’d remember his parents, and his brother.”

Isabella bristled, “Did you not hear a word I said Rupert? My uncle used a memory charm on the boy and his adoptive parents. He does not remember Reginald, Celeste or James. He remembers nothing of his proper life, only that he was born to Jessica and Anthony Harris and spent quite a lot of time when he was younger moving around before finally settling in Sunnydale.”

“I do believe,” Dumbledore interrupted quietly, ending the tirade his niece was working up to, “That being friends with The Slayer, a Witch and a Werewolf, has… overshadowed the young man somewhat.” He smiled slightly at Giles. “Isabella was supposed to find him, and bring him to Hogwarts,” he turned and looked at the door, “The children will be here soon, so I must ask for no more interruptions.” He looked around at each of them who nodded, “Minerva, if you don’t mind…” He motioned to the doorway, smiling when she nodded and begrudgingly moved to the front door, changing into a cat as she did so.

Sirius held open the door, “Just… yowl if they get close Professor.” He smiled at the disdainful look he received before shutting the door behind her.

“Now,” Dumbledore continued to sip his mead, “A prophecy was made some time ago, long before the one Sybil divulged to me that night in the Hog’s Head. Unfortunately, earlier this evening, the Ministry’s records of any and all known Prophecies were destroyed, many thanks to Harry and his friends. However, Remus if you please,” he motioned to a case he’d been carrying and Remus lifted a large stone basin from the wooden case delicately onto the table in front of them. “Through a great deal of trial and error, I managed to convince Eliza Potter to give me this,” he pulled a small, glass vial from his inner robes. Popping the cork, he tipped the silvery fluid into the pensieve. “She was, of course, reluctant at first, but as I am sure you know Rupert, your great grandmother has always been reluctant to hand things of this nature over.” He looked up at Giles over the rim of his glasses, smiling a little as he gave the silver memory a prod with his wand.

The four of them watched as a glimmering figure emerged from the pensieve, her face reminded Giles of his beloved Jenny, but she was dressed as a gypsy, not in the comfortable jeans and sweaters his Jenny used to wear. _“In the fifth year, brother and brother will be separated. Lines shall be drawn; never crossing until the hall has emptied, uniting blood once more to defeat the Dark Lord… In the fifth year, brother and brother will be separated. Lines shall be drawn; never crossing until the hall has emptied, uniting blood once more to defeat the Dark Lord.”_

Giles turned to Dumbledore, “You can’t possibly believe that.” He glared as the shimmering figure faded into the pensieve once more.

“You said yourself he was braver then most,” Albus lifted his chin a little, “We have kept an eye on all brothers within the Wizarding world. Only the Potters are viable candidates.”

Giles shook his head, “You’re telling me I’m going to have to let Xander leave with you for Hogwarts?” He glared at Dumbledore, “No Albus, I will not let you do that. I lost one cousin already I will not lose another! I’ve spent the last three years making sure all of my wards were kept safe, I would lay down my life for each and everyone of them time and time again if I could, I will not let you do this to him!” Giles had stood up from the couch and begun to pace, “He’s like a son to me Albus, if my aunt and uncle didn’t want him to be a part of that world, then I won’t blatantly go against them and send him into some battle that he isn’t prepared for.”

“Don’t you think he has a right to know Rupert?” Remus stood up and faced his friend, “Just as Harry had a right to know the truth about how his parents died and what almost happened to him?”

Giles looked at his old friend, noting the lines on his face, the new scars that hadn’t been there fourteen years ago. “Of course he does Remus, but what then? How do I sit him down and tell him, contrary to what he believes, those muggles aren’t his parents, that his whole life is based on a lie because some megalomaniac with a thirst for power killed his brother and sister in-law, almost damn near killed his nephew and the loss of that was far too great for his real parents so they up and died, leaving him with Jessica and Anthony --” Giles froze as motion at the door drew his attention. “Brilliant.” He muttered under his breath, watching as Xander stood there staring at him.


	3. The Truth About Xander

“I did warn you, several times,” came the stern voice of McGonagall as she straightened her glasses and stepped back inside the flat. “But you were too busy shouting at anyone to notice.” She glared at Giles as she shut the door.

“Xander, I…” Giles began, rubbing the back of his neck; he looked up at the boy, no, young man, trying to gauge how much he had heard. His stony silence was more then enough, “I can explain.”

“Buffy’s hurt,” he managed, tearing his gaze away from Giles, “There was too many of them, one of them managed to get her with a piece of rebar. She needs you now.”

Giles’ heart felt as though someone had slipped it into a vice, “Where?”

“Shady Hill, we thought it was a nest, turns out it was a whole commune.” He looked around at the new people who’d obviously arrived after they left.

Rupert moved quickly, grabbing his jacket and his favourite broadsword. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Sit down Rupert,” Dumbledore spoke up for the first time since he’d begun his tirade. His voice was soft, yet it still had a steely edge to it. “You and I have not finished.” He turned to face the young man now glaring at the back of Giles’ head, “Alexander, would you be so kind as to show Isabella and Sirius where your friends are?” He asked; his voice noticeably warmer, “You will Apparate the others back here, Minerva, they may need your help. Remus, I assume Rupert has a sizeable first aid kit around here somewhere, please find it and take it up stairs and prepare for the young woman’s arrival.”

“I want to stay.” Xander stood up straighter, raising his chin in defiance.

“You shall hear what Rupert and I both have to say when you return, until then; your friends need your help, as does Sirius and Isabella.” Dumbledore smiled and followed them out the door, shutting it silently behind them.

“I meant what I said Albus, I will not put Xander through that, I can’t.” He watched as Remus flicked his wand, muttering _‘Accio Rupert’s First Aid Kit!’_ before he disappeared up the stairs. “If he goes to Hogwarts, he’ll be leaving behind all that his ever known; childhood friends, memories both good and bad, he’ll be alone, and don’t you think he’s been through enough?”

“That decision is not yours to make Rupert,” Albus came back and sat down in the chair, “He is of age, old enough to make his own decisions. We will tell him everything, naturally. But then, should he wish to come to Hogwarts and meet Harry, and more importantly stay and learn, then he will and you cannot change that. If he decides to let sleeping dogs lie, then so be it.”

“And what of his life here Albus; what of the friends and family he leaves behind?” Giles could feel the anger bubbling up inside of him.

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling, “I have spoken to Hemingford School for Witches,” he flicked his wand and waited until Rupert had accepted the glass of mead before continuing, “I spoke to them quite often in fact after the Restoration spell had been cast, it seems Miss Rosenberg was by all accounts taken for a muggle when she turned eleven, she had shown no signs of inheriting any of her grandparent’s abilities, the Coleman’s, after the birth of Sheila left the Wizarding world to protect their child, born a squib.” He sighed softly, “The war scared off a great many families Rupert. The Coleman’s and the Potter’s are just two.”

“That still doesn’t explain what will happen to Xander and the life he has here if he chooses to go to Hogwarts.” Giles bit out, he had often wondered why Willow had never been chosen for the prestigious all girls’ school of Witchcraft , her quick learning and natural abilities were continuing to grow day by day.

“I am getting there,” Albus smirked, “I have discussed it with the school Governor’s, should Alexander accept my offer to come to Hogwarts, his friends, including the werewolf you call Oz, are more then welcome. Miss Rosenberg and Mr Potter can resume sixth and seventh year classes, however, Miss Summers and Mr Osborne, while welcome to come and stay at the castle for as long as they wish, I am afraid, can not. You know for yourself that a Slayer is magical enough without the use of magic itself. And, while Mr Osborne is a werewolf, he shows no sign of magical abilities whatsoever. Therefore, I can not allow him to study along side the others.” He sat back, his fingers resting against his chin.

“And what of me Professor, if Xander chooses to go to Hogwarts, the others will join him, they do not abandon each other, am I to become redundant?” Giles asked, his insides burning with anger at the fact that Xander, Buffy, Willow and Oz’s lives had been mapped out for them.

“I had been led to believe by Quentin Travers that you had already been made redundant Rupert, and are therefore, in need of a job.” He gave the other man a knowing smile, “I assume that you did not get to finish reading your letter before Isabella arrived,” when Giles nodded, Albus continued, “I had originally written to you three days ago, but with so much happening in such little time, it was not posted. The school is in need of a new Muggle Studies teacher, there was much discussion after your position as Watcher was terminated as to what you would do next, and several weeks ago, Professor Meriwether approached me with a letter of resignation, it seems she wants to spend more time getting to know her muggle grandchildren and less time teaching Wizards and Witches how to behave in Muggle Society. Professor’s Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall and Hagrid mentioned your name. After spending so long with muggles, you seem the logical choice.” He smiled softly, “The position is yours if you wish to take it, and with the changing of Ministers at the Ministry, Hogwarts has once again been left in my capable hands. Remus will be resuming his position as Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts, and if you so wish, you may hire an assistant to help you grade papers.” There was that knowing smile again and Giles wished for half a second that he could reach out and wipe it off Dumbledore’s face. “I am sure Mr Osborne will find something to occupy his time between moons.”

Giles swallowed the last of his mead before setting the glass down, “I shall wait to see what Xander has to say about all of this, and I shall make my move from there.”

“Very well,” Dumbledore smiled, “I am sure they will be back presently.”

Moments later, the apartment was filled with two resounding cracks, a garbled noise and someone rushing for the bathroom. Dumbledore smiled as Giles’ face went pale. First time apparition was never easy, especially if you weren’t used to it, and as the sounds of retching continued from the bathroom, he was sure one of the girls had left their stomach behind.

“Giles?” Willow ’s voice floated from upstairs, “It’s Buffy… she…” She looked up as the toilet flushed and Buffy emerged, the piece of rebar had left a hole in her side before Willow , Oz and Xander could dispatch of the remaining vampires.

Giles all but flew up the stairs, “What happened?” He barked at Willow , moving Buffy over to the bed where Remus, Isabella and McGonagall waited, “You promised me you’d be careful,” he said soft enough for only Buffy to hear him.

She offered him a tiny, weak smile before moving her hand from her side so he could assess the damage.

“Where are Sirius and the others?” He asked, wincing in sympathy when he saw the blood blossoming on the light coloured material.

“They’re walking back,” Isabella said softly; her hand moving out and resting on Giles’ arm. “C’mon Rupert, let Minerva and Remus do their job.” She smiled down at Buffy before leading her Watcher and best friend away, leaving the others to staunch the flow of blood and seal the wound.

“Willow , what happened?” His voice held the calm, quiet fury of earlier.

“We were having a pretty quiet night Giles, not a single vampire until we hit Shady Hill, Oz smelt them first, and the four of us tracked it to that new mausoleum, you know the one the city has started to build for the Mayor and the students after graduation when he…” She made a little hand gesture before continuing, “Buffy checked it out, said there were six, maybe eight of them, which you know two on one, not that hard, we’ve done it before, but… We got in there and there was a WHOLE lot more then eight Giles. There had to have been at least twenty of them, we went in and we got a few, but…” She wiped at her face, her hands trembling, “Oz and Xander covered me while I tried to figure out that sun spell, you know the one I was working on last summer? And, well, we were only down to about fifteen of them now, maybe less, and one of them, he picked up a piece of rebar, I think the work crew left some of it behind when they packed up for the night and, well, he… and Buffy… Oz and I sent Xander here for help, and I remembered the spell, and poof! And then Xander came back with Sirius and Isabella and the woman upstairs and then, she grabbed Buffy, Isabella grabbed me, and poof! Back here and Buffy was sick and Xander stormed off in a huff just before we came back here and Sirius and Oz went to find him and bring him back.” She finished, her heart pounding in her ears as she sunk down onto the sofa.

“I think you may need a drink Miss Rosenberg,” Dumbledore spoke up, handing the young witch a glass full of mead, “Rupert, why don’t you go and see how Remus and Minerva are fairing with young Buffy while Isabella and I make things a little more comfortable in here, I’ve no doubt Sirius will be returning soon with Alexander and Mr Osborne.”

Giles nodded and moved back to the loft, stopping only to place a reassuring hand on Willow ’s shoulder. “I shan’t be long Willow , just relax.” He took the stairs two at a time, waiting by the door until Remus and Minerva had finished.

Isabella looked from Dumbledore to Willow and back again, “There are ten of us Uncle,” She smiled as he stood up, removing his wand from the inside of his robes.

“Yes, another sofa and armchair should do nicely Isabella; perhaps you could clear a little space over there by that book shelf.” He watched as she did as he requested, smiling when the bookcase slid out of the way. Flicking his wand, Dumbledore conjured up a rather large comfortable armchair and matching sofa, “Splendid,” he muttered softly before claiming the new armchair as his own. “Now, Miss Rosenberg, I am Albus Dumbledore.” He looked across at her, his blue eyes sparkling. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me?”

Willow lifted her gaze away from the mead, still in her hands, “What? Oh, yes. Giles and Sirius told us this afternoon. You’re the Headmaster of Hogwarts.” She smiled politely before looking up the stairs towards the loft.

“Your friend will be fine, I assure you. While Minerva and Remus are not Poppy Pomfrey, they are quite adept at healing trivial things such as a wound in the side.” He frowned slightly when she didn’t look at him, “A sickle for your thoughts Miss Rosenberg?” He enquired softly, resting his chin on the tips of his fingers.

She heaved a great sigh, she wasn’t quite sure what a sickle was, but she understood the nature of the question. Turning, she took a sip of mead before meeting the Headmaster’s gaze. “I’ve been working on this sun spell for almost a year now, it’s supposed to be a tiny ball of sunshine,” She held her hands about three inches apart. “I’ve done it three times already… last summer, but tonight… Buffy could have died because I kept fumbling over words, and, okay I got there in the end, but by that time, it was too late.” She shook her head, “I almost lost one of my best friends all because I panicked.”

“You can do the _Solaris _spell?” Isabella enquired from her place by the front window, keeping watch for Sirius and the others.

“Yes, can’t most Witches and Wizards?” Willow looked up at the slightly older woman just in time to see a look shared between her and her Uncle.

“The _Solaris_ is a highly powerful spell Miss Rosenberg, Earth magic. How did you come by it, if I may ask?” Dumbledore’s voice was soft, soothing almost, but not as soothing as Rosmerta’s mead.

“Please, call me Willow .” She blushed slightly, “And I found it in one of the books Giles tries to keep hidden from me.” She noticed another look between the two adults and her face paled, “Oh! But, he’s already told me off, please, he didn’t even know I’d looked at it until after it was too late.”

Dumbledore chuckled, “No one is getting in trouble Willow ; I was merely stating a fact.” He settled back, looking at the two young women across from him. “You are incredibly skilled for someone who has never been formally trained.”

Willow blushed, “Thank you.” She lifted her head towards the loft, “Do you… do you think it would be okay if I went and saw Buffy now?” She asked, while her hands had stopped trembling she still looked rather pale.

“By all means,” he smiled at the young Wicca as she stood up, slowly making her way up to the loft.

When they were left alone, Isabella turned from her place by the window, letting the curtain drop. “You are going to get us into a world of trouble Uncle Albus.”

“My dear Isabella, we are already in a great deal of trouble; even more so if Rupert continues to be so pigheaded and stubborn.” Albus sat back, smiling when Sorrow flew from his current perch atop a bookshelf to the arm of his chair.

“This isn’t just some silly old fairy tale Uncle; this is the life of an entire family. These young adults… they are the closest thing Rupert has to a family of his own, you can’t honestly ask him to send one of them off to what could very likely be his death.” She moved and sat down by her uncle’s feet, “I haven’t been here long enough Uncle but… look around you. The picture holding pride of place on the mantle, the way Rupert was ready to go out and face whatever it was that had attacked his Slayer, the way Alexander looked when he overheard your conversation…” She smiled sadly up at Dumbledore, “I love Rupert like he was my own brother, and I’ve missed his quiet presence, we all have. And we would all love to see the Potter family reunited, none so much as Rupert himself, you know how hard it was for him after Lily and James died and after Reginald and Celeste disappeared, but for him to lose a cousin he’s only just discovered will destroy him.”

“But who is to say that he will lose him Bella?” Dumbledore cupped her cheek; she had a strength of spirit inside of her that many rarely saw, her passion for her friends could, at times be overwhelming.

“You know there are no guarantees Uncle, for five years Harry has fought Voldemort, beating him each time through sheer luck, what if Alexander isn’t as lucky? Merlin knows Harry needs what’s left of his family, but he shouldn’t have to suffer any more losses, he’s suffered enough.”

“As Rupert said, we will let the young man decide.” Dumbledore squeezed her shoulder gently, “Until then, let us not dwell on this matter – ah look, Miss Summers, what an honour it is to finally meet you.” Albus and Isabella stood, moving as one to greet Buffy. “I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” He held out his hand, smiling warmly as she gave it a firm shake, “I believe you’ve already met my niece, Isabella.” He grinned when Isabella blushed.

“Kinda,” Buffy turned to her and smiled, “You’re the eagle.” She smirked when Isabella’s blush deepened.

“Well, yes. I’m sorry for that… display. However, Sirius Black deserved every bit of it. It’s a pleasure to meet you Buffy.”

The Slayer nodded, “Thanks for your help tonight, though, I’m not exactly sure just… popping… me back here was a wise thing. It was cool, I’ll give you that, but I think I left my stomach back at the cemetery.”

“Yes, apparition takes a while to get used to. But it did seem the quickest way of getting you home safely.” Dumbledore nodded as Remus and Minerva came down to join them.

“Rupert shall be down momentarily,” McGonagall gave Dumbledore a tight-lipped smile, “He said to tell you if things should be done, it would be best to get them over and done with this evening, but first he needs to gather a few things.”

“Splendid, splendid,” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled and Buffy realized that he looked more like someone’s kindly old grandfather then the powerful Wizard Giles and his friend had talked him up to be earlier, but then again, people often mistook her for some silly girl – some silly blond girl – so she knew first hand about how looks could be deceiving. “Now, while Rupert is doing whatever it is he is doing, I shall introduce you both to my colleagues.” He smiled at Buffy and Willow , “This is Professor Remus Lupin, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and this is Professor Minerva McGonagall. Deputy Headmistress and teacher of Transfiguration, both fine teachers, probably the finest Hogwarts has ever seen.”

Buffy and Willow shook hands with each of them, Willow , Buffy noticed was in awe of all three Professors, and the Slayer could see the questions kicking over in her friend’s brain. “Well, welcome to the Hellmouth,” she smiled as she stepped back, looking oddly at Remus, “You’re the werewolf Giles and Sirius was talking about, aren’t you?”

Remus’ face became even paler as he looked at the young women now standing in front of him, turning; he looked at Dumbledore, “Is nothing sacred these days?” He asked; a slight edge of panic creeping into his voice.

“What? Oh, no, it’s cool.” Buffy shared a small smile with Willow , “So long as you’re not the type that goes around ripping out throats for fun whenever it’s that time of the month, is cool with us. And, well, Sirius and Giles told us about becoming Animagi with Giles’ cousin so you don’t go out and do that. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t met a werewolf before, right Willow ?”

Willow beamed, “Right.” Turning she looked at Buffy and had to swallow the laughter bubbling up in her throat. Her friend’s eyes were so clear; she could practically hear the unspoken ‘Or dated a werewolf.’

“Besides, kinda hard not to notice… you made my spider senses go a little tingly.” Buffy moved and sat down on Giles’ sofa. “So… You were Giles’ teacher once?” She asked looking at Professor McGonagall, “Was he very, um… studious?” She tried putting it as politely as she could.

Willow moved and sat beside her friend, and Dumbledore noticed that the colour had returned to her cheeks. “Was he a trouble maker? Cos, I could see Giles as someone who was always in detention.”

“Rupert Giles? Detention?” McGonagall shook her head, “A ludicrous idea. No, if anything, he spent much too much time with his nose in a book.” She caught sight of Isabella and Remus’ look of disbelief. “Believe it or not, I too know how to have fun. Merlin knows I saw plenty of it this year, between Peeves and the Weasley twins I’m not sure which would have made Sirius and James more proud.”

Willow opened her mouth to ask just who exactly were Peeves and the Weasley twins when the front door opened and Oz, Xander and Sirius all stepped inside. Jumping up from the chair, she moved and stood beside Oz, “Are you guys okay?” her voice was soft as she tried checking both her friends over for any injuries.

“We’re good.” Oz murmured, eyeing Remus carefully. “Moony?” He asked, looking at Sirius who nodded.

Remus however was watching Oz with a gaze unlike Sirius had ever seen, the way he stood, the way his gaze flickered from Oz to Sirius and back again, even down to the low growl in the back of his throat, just audible to Sirius’ ears, screamed of someone staking a claim on his ground.

“It’s alright Remus, he’s friends with Rupert. Daniel Osborne, Remus Lupin. Remus, Daniel. Now, get back in your box Moony and leave the poor lad alone.” Sirius moved away and tugged on the back of his friend’s robes.

It was another second before Remus conceded and moved to sit down across from Buffy. “Sorry, one can just…”

“Never be too careful.” Oz finished as he moved to shake the other wolf’s hand, “Sirius told us that earlier when he thought I was going to attack Giles.”

“Ahh,” Remus smiled, “Fair enough.”

Oz turned around again as Dumbledore introduced himself and McGonagall; shaking both their hands politely, “Nice to meet you.” He sat down, looking at Buffy, “You’ve stopped bleeding.”

“Yup, a little hocus pocus and I’m good as new.” She smiled, “Where’d you guys get to?”

Oz shook his head, “Just around.” He looked pointedly at Xander and shrugged, lowering his voice; he leaned towards Buffy and Willow , “Even more stoic then me, ever since he got back from getting help.”

Buffy looked up, her gaze trained on Xander for any signs of injury, “Xander? Earth to Xander, come in Xander?” When she didn’t even get a smile, she looked around the room and shrugged, whatever it was, it couldn’t be too important otherwise Xander would have told them the moment he walked in the door.

“Sorry that took so long, blasted things were shoved to the very back of my wardrobe.” Giles announced as he came down stairs, “Are Xander and the others --” He was cut off as Xander stepped into his line of sight.

“I want to know everything.” He ground out, “Now.”

Willow felt her blood freeze in her veins as she looked at Xander, she’d only ever heard him use that tone of voice once before, three years ago when he’d been possessed by a Hyena Spirit. “Xander?”

“Xander I think it might be best if we --” Giles began, only to get cut off again.

“You think it might be best? How long have you been lying to me Giles, to all of us? I mean, sure you’ve got your secrets, things about your past that you don’t want us to know about because they hurt, and I understand that. Believe me, I understand that. But… you don’t get to decide what’s best for me, you’re not my dad… and apparently, neither is the guy I’ve been calling ‘dad’.” Xander was shaking with barely suppressed rage; Buffy, Oz and Willow had frozen in their spots. None of them had ever seen Xander this upset, not even when Angelus was on the loose or when Buffy had returned from her three-month stint in Los Angeles . “Do you have any idea, what it’s like to be eight years old, with a fist coming towards you because if he hits you, he won’t be hitting your mom? Or what it’s like to be twelve and listening to your friends talk about what they’d had for dinner, or what they were going to have for lunch, when you’ve been hungry for three days because it was either pay the rent or buy groceries because your parents decided to spend most of their pay cheque on booze?” He shook his head, “When you understand that, then you can come and tell me what you think is best!”

“Xander,” Willow and Buffy moved towards their friend but came to a sudden stop when his hand went up.

“I need to think,” turning on his heel; he pulled open the door and walked out into the night, not even bothering to slam it.

Dumbledore watched quietly, waiting, his heart aching for the boy and his story. When he was sure Xander was far enough away from the apartment block, he turned, “Minerva, Isabella…”

“We’ll watch him Uncle.” In the blink of an eye, a tabby cat and eagle were fleeing out into the night to follow him.

“Oz,” Buffy turned her head, “The door…” She waited for Oz to nod and close the door quietly before rounding on the others, her brain already snapping out of the shock at seeing Xander so angry. But as she opened her mouth to speak, Willow beat her to it.

“Someone better tell me what the HELL is going on here… NOW.” She looked from Albus to Giles, both faces equally pale, Giles’ hands, she noticed, were trembling, his green eyes glassy with tears.

“Giles?” Buffy moved closer, her hand reaching out and touching his arm, she had only ever seen Giles cry once, the night he’d gone after Angelus with a baseball bat. “We’ll sit down and then you and Professor Dumbledore can explain everything to us okay? Oz, you and Willow go make tea? I think there might also be a tin of cookies my mom sent over after graduation in the cupboard by the refrigerator.”

“Sure.” Oz was already moving, leading Willow gently into the kitchen.

Buffy looked up at the remaining Wizards, all standing around, looks of uncertainty on their faces. “Sit,” her voice was soft and she felt a pang in her chest when they all complied. “Now, how about someone starts at the beginning and tells us what’s going on?” She saw Giles nod his head slightly out of the corner of her eye before passing her a large, leather bound book.

“It’s the family album. I thought it would be better to show him before I explained everything, he, he needed to, to see.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow slightly as Oz came back out to the kitchen laden down with the tea and a tin of cookies. “Willow?” her voice soft.

“Calming down,” he set the tray on the table and moved to sit on the sofa.

She nodded and opened the album, a tiny shout of surprise sneaking past her lips as the first picture waved back at her.

“I-it’s a wizarding photo album, magic…” Giles supplied, reaching out and taking a cup of tea.

“Oh,” Buffy held the album towards Oz so he could see as Giles continued to tell them about Xander and his real parents, about the war that had seen his brother and sister in-law dead, about his fifteen year old nephew who had faced James’ murderer four times in the last five years and had survived. As Willow came back into the living room, he told them about the prophecy that he had only just heard, about how Xander, after his real parents had died had been placed in the care of Jessica and Anthony Harris, how his real parents had wanted him to have nothing to do with the world he came from.

Willow leaned across the back of the sofa, looking at the last few pictures in the album. Sure enough, there stood her oldest and dearest friend at the age of four, clinging to the legs of what was an older version of himself wearing glasses. She rubbed her eyes as he waved up at her, “How long have you known?” Her voice was soft as she avoided Giles’ gaze.

“Since just after you left for patrol this evening, Isabella told me what she knew, I pieced it together from there.” He looked back down at the cup in his hands.

“Are you lying?” Willow asked, “Because, to me, it seems a little odd you being his cousin and all… surely you knew Giles.”

He shook his head, “When I first met Xander… his resemblance to James was… unbelievable. But I pulled his school records, wondering if it could have been… if there was even the slightest chance he was related, but it all seemed in order. By all accounts he was the natural child of Jessica and Anthony Harris. So I left it at that.”

Sirius nodded solemnly, “When I saw him today… he looks so much like James, his hair is a little neater, but the eyes, the face…” He sighed softly, “He walked in when Albus and Rupert were arguing about --”

“I wish for Alexander to come to Hogwarts, to study.” Dumbledore spoke up for the first time, “He deserves the chance to get to know his nephew and to take his rightful place in the world.” Dumbledore looked from Giles to his charges, “Rupert seems to think that this is unfair, that I should not expect so much from someone who has no idea what could possibly lay in store for him.”

“Too bloody right!” Giles raised his voice, “Xander is like a son to me, cousin or no, I will not allow him to be led off where he could possibly die.”

“Yet you allow him to patrol with The Slayer, to fight along side of her to keep the world in balance.” Remus piped up from his place beside Sirius, he held up his hands in front of him when he received a glare from the other man.

“That is different.”

“How is that different?”

Everyone turned, once again, none of them had even noticed his arrival.

“Xander!” Willow rushed forward and enveloped him in a hug, “Giles was just… he was trying to explain…” She flushed; the look on Xander’s face told her he was still angry. Shutting her mouth she moved back to the sofa.

“How is me helping Buffy on a nightly basis any different to me going and meeting what’s left of my family?” He was looking directly at Giles. “I get that it’s dangerous, Isabella and Professor McGonagall told me everything. Right down to the prophecy and what this Voldemort guy could do. How is it different Giles?”

“Xander, you could die.”

“I could die here Giles! I could walk outside tomorrow and get hit by a bus.” Shaking his head, he sighed, “It doesn’t matter, I’ve already made up my mind, I’m going and you can’t say anything to make me change my mind. We’ve looked at what? A dozen prophecies in the last three years and we’ve always come out on top, why should this one make any difference?”

Giles slumped back against the sofa, “Because it just is Xander.”

Xander looked around at the faces of his friends, “Can the others come to this Hogwarts place with me?” He asked, looking at Dumbledore.

“If they so wish, but I am afraid I can only offer you and Miss Rosenberg a place within the student body. Miss Summers and Mr Osborne must look to some form of employment, Rupert here has already been offered a position among the staff, but I am sure I can find something for them to do.”

“Right,” Xander nodded, “When can we leave?”

“Xander, are you sure you want to do this?” Buffy looked up at her friend, her eyes full of worry.

“More sure then I’ve ever been Buff,” He flashed her a quick smile.

“You, Mr Harris --”

“Potter.”

“Mr Potter,” Dumbledore smiled, “may leave with Sirius, Remus and Isabella this moment if you so wish. The others will have to follow in a few days.”

He nodded, “Okay then, what about money for clothes and accommodation and…”

Albus smiled and rose from his chair, “You will, of course be staying with Sirius at his home until the new school year begins. As for money, your parents originally left you and James an equal amount of money; however, with their disappearance from the Wizarding world, and yours, it was left to your nephew, Harry. Though I am sure once things have been explained to both Harry and the Ministry, as well as Gringott’s, what is rightfully and lawfully yours, will be returned.”

Xander nodded, “Alright then… how are we getting to Hogwarts?”

“Ahh yes, a simple matter. Minerva if you please?” Dumbledore held out his hand as she passed him what looked like an old tin kettle. Tapping it with his wand, he passed it to Remus, “I have given you enough time to say goodbye to your friends before the portkey is activated, then you simply grab a hold of the kettle and you will all be transported to Grimmauld Place. Much easier then transporting you to Hogwarts as it will arouse less suspicion. Isabella, I want you to stay with them, they are going to need all the help they can get.” Dumbledore smiled at his niece who nodded, albeit hesitatingly.

“Alright then,” Sirius stood up and moved towards Rupert, “We’ll see you in a few days then Rupert,” He helped the man to his feet before giving him a quick hug. “He’ll be in good hands Rupert, Moony and I’ll keep a close watch on him, and… well, anything for James’ brother, you know that.”

Giles nodded as Isabella threw her arms around his waist. “I’ll make sure they don’t get him into trouble Rupert, and I’ll make sure he gets down to Diagon Alley to collect his things.” She looked up at him, “Stay safe and we’ll talk in a few days, alright?”

Remus followed, shaking Giles’ hand, “He’s in good hands, and if what Quentin Travers says is true, he’ll be magnificent.”

The three of them stepped aside as a blur of red and blond rushed Xander, “We’ll see you soon okay Xander?” Willow looked up at him, “Stay out of trouble and I want to know everything you’ve done the moment I get there okay?” She wrapped her arms around his waist in a long hug, blinking back tears. It would be the first time either of them had been separated by such a long distance since Willow had had to go with her parents to some conference in New York when they were seven.

“You know me Will, trouble’s my middle name.” He gave a soggy chuckle as she nodded and stepped back, allowing Buffy to take her place.

“If anyone so much as looks at you wrong, you let me know.” She spoke into his chest. He was so much more then her best friend, he was her brother just as Willow was her sister.

“My staunch defender,” he wheezed, trying to suck in lungfuls of air, “Buffy… oxygen.” He smiled down at her sheepish expression when she let go and stepped away. “Oz,” Xander turned, rubbing his side. “Take care man.”

“You too,” He reached out and shook his hand.

Nodding Xander turned to finally face Giles. “In a few days, we’ll talk… a lot.” He gave the other man a brief hug before turning and nodding at Remus who held out the kettle.

Satisfied that everyone was holding onto the portkey, Dumbledore nodded, “It is time. Minerva and I shall follow along shortly. We still have some business to discuss with Rupert. It was good to finally see you Alexander.” He smiled once more as the four of them whirled once and were gone with a small ‘pop’.


	4. Hidden Talents

Giles stared at the spot where Xander had been only moments ago, his heart pounding in his chest. He had just sent his cousin… the young man he looked on as a son, to another country, another world, one where he would be in twice as much danger then if he stayed on the Hellmouth.

"Giles?" Buffy reached out and touched his arm, "He'll be okay and I'm sure Sirius will make sure he's safe." She smiled softly before turning back to face the others, "Is this… private grown-ups business or can the rest of us stay as well?" She asked, her blue-grey eyes meeting Dumbledore's.

"You and your friends are most welcome to stay Miss Summers," Dumbledore smiled softly and sat back down in Giles' chair, McGonagall at his side. "As it is, I have a few questions regarding Alexander's life with the Harris'. Some that I am certain only Miss Rosenberg can answer."

Willow nodded and sat down, her stomach twisting itself into knots, Xander had pretty much covered what life had been like for him in his burst of outrage at Giles, so she wasn't entirely sure what else needed to be explained. "I'll answer as best I can."

Buffy made Giles sit back down while Oz moved about the kitchen preparing tea. The previous summer had seen the Slayerettes take some form of control when confronted with emotional and life-altering moments such as these. As Buffy settled down beside Willow, she looked up at Dumbledore, "What do you want to know?"

Albus and Minerva shared a quick look, both of them amazed at the maturity and level-headedness of the young people in the room. As teachers, they had spent a great deal of time with students as young as eleven, and knew that times like these often ended in chaos.

Turning back to face Willow and Buffy, Dumbledore nodded as he accepted a cup of tea from Oz, "Firstly, I'd like to ask, if in all the years you've known Alexander, has there been any… odd occurrences, things that just seem to… have happened with no rhyme or reason behind them?"

Oz sat down beside Willow, automatically reaching for her hand, "Not to sound, well, obvious; but this is the Hellmouth."

Dumbledore smiled softly, "Yes, but I do believe Vampires, werewolves, demons and the like are very much the norm for this family Mr Osbourne. I am talking about things that have happened to Alexander or near Alexander that offer no simple explanation."

"You mean like things breaking and going poof?" Willow managed; her voice soft.

"Precisely Miss Rosenberg," Dumbledore smiled as the young woman's brow furrowed in concentration.

"I… I'm not sure," she worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she tried to recall some kind of memory of Xander where odd occurrences – even for the Hellmouth – couldn't be explained away.

"The bomb?" Oz asked, almost absent-mindedly from his place beside Willow.

She shook her head, oblivious to the confused stares from Giles and Buffy, "No, he told me that the military training stuff from Halloween helped him with that…" The lines in her brow deepened as she continued to think, there was at least thirteen years of memories she had to go through.

Giles shook his head, "Are you entirely sure about this Albus? Perhaps you're wrong about the whole thing, I'm sure there are dozens of boys out there fitting Xander's description."

"Rupert Giles!" the piercing stare of Minerva McGonagall rounded on him, "Albus Dumbledore is never wrong when it comes to matters such as these!"

Buffy managed to hide a tiny smirk as Giles' face turned beet red, looking every bit the chastised school boy.

"As am I Rupert," Dumbledore smiled softly, "but alas, no other boy's parents had Rubeus Hagrid as their family's Secret Keeper."

"What's a Secret Keeper?" Buffy asked from her place beside Willow, "I mean I'm pretty sure I know what a secret keeper is, but, I get the feeling that your idea of a secret keeper and my idea of a secret keeper are a little different."

"A Secret Keeper, Miss Summers, is… someone bound by the Fidelius Charm." Minerva smiled at the young woman, "The charm binds the secret to a person, normally a trusted friend or family member, and it is normally used for hiding the location of something or someone of great importance. Alexander's birth parents were able to go into hiding with the use of the Charm, the only person who knew of their where-a-bouts was Rubeus Hagrid. The only person who could and can tell you their exact where-a-bouts is Rubeus Hagrid."

"Ah," Buffy nodded, she got the gist of it. She still wasn't completely one hundred per cent sure, but she understood enough to make some sense of it.

"OH!" Willow's face lit up, standing, she flew to the table they had been researching at earlier before their lives got tipped upside down and booted up her laptop.

"Willow?" Giles asked softly, watching as the young woman's hands danced across the keyboard.

"I think I remember something, I just have to be sure," she glanced up quickly and smiled at Giles, "I promise I'm not doing anything too illegal." Her gaze flicked back to the screen, "Just give me a couple of minutes."

Giles smiled apologetically at Minerva and Albus, "She's uh, she's just joking about not doing anything too illegal."

"No she's not." Oz's lips twitched, showing a hint of smugness. "But, if Giles wants to pretend, then… cool." He looked over at Buffy, eyebrow raised slightly in amusement as she tried to contain her snickers.

"What _is_ that contraption?" Minerva asked, eyeing the slim-line case.

Buffy's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she gaped at McGonagall. "You can't be serious?" She looked at Giles, "She can't be serious? Can she?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "I assure you Buffy, for all intents and purposes Minerva is always serious. However, I must say that I, myself, am rather curious as to what Miss Rosenberg is doing."

Buffy shook her head in disbelief, how could someone not know a computer when they saw one? They were everywhere these days, even the back streets of Calcutta had internet cafes… or at least that's what National Geographic was showing.

"It's called a computer," Giles said absent-mindedly. "Loathsome things, all hard discs and modems and - "

"Rodents." Buffy and Oz chimed in.

Rolling his eyes, Giles continued, "People, Muggles, use them to communicate with each other, or to learn things via the internet."

"Ah," Dumbledore sat back, watching Willow, "Something tells me that you do not see eye to eye with computers Rupert."

"They don't smell," Buffy and Oz shared a look, each trying to hide their amusement, though to no avail.

"If you two are quite finished," Giles glared at them. "They are correct nevertheless, unlike books, computers have no scent, and as I have so often tried to explain to the peanut gallery, there is nothing stronger, then a memory which has been triggered by the scent of old leather, ink, aged paper and binding glue."

"So true, so true," Albus smiled, "Though I do imagine it is a far easier way to garner information then rifling through tome upon tome in some archaic language."

Willow looked up and flashed the Wizard a bright smile, "It is, but there are some things… certain things that just aren't available on the 'net. Aha!" She cried, jumping up and pointing at the screen. "I knew it." She turned and looked at the confused faces around her.

"Knew what?" Oz got up and moved to look at the red-head's find.

"Xander's eighth birthday," she smiled proudly.

"What about it?" Buffy asked, standing up and moving to the printer Willow had set up two days ago on Giles' kitchen table as Oz printed out… whatever it was.

"Well, Mr and Mrs Harris threw him this birthday party, everyone from our class came; and he'd been boasting about how he wanted this new fire engine toy because, well, Mr Harris threw his one across the room one night…" she trailed off, not needing to explain why Anthony Harris had broken one of his son's toys. "And anyway, he got a couple of comic books instead, he was really disappointed and after he just sat in a corner of the yard, looking out at, well… nothing. Even after everyone had gone home, he just… ya know, sat there. Jesse and I had stayed behind and we were all just… sitting there when the house next door just went up in flames. Before we knew what was going on, someone had called 911 and well, up pulls the brand new fire trucks."

Buffy picked up the first piece of paper as it came out of the printer, "The police report says that the cause of the fire is indeterminate," picking up the next two sheets, she quickly scanned them for anything else, "The fire inspector's report?" She looked at Willow, "How did you get these?"

"A law was passed when Wilkins was first elected Mayor… the very first time… that the hall of records at city hall maintains a copy of every report ever made, police reports, complaints, coroner's reports, births, marriages, real estate sales… that type of thing. We've got records dating back for the last century. The good thing is that most of the information has now been stored on computers." She gave Buffy an impish grin.

"Well done Willow," Buffy teased lightly before turning back to the papers in her hands. "The fire inspector couldn't find any cause for the fire, no signs of arson or faulty wiring… not even burning candles or matches… nothing, the house just went up."

Dumbledore beamed, "Splendid, splendid."

"Xander did that?" Oz raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I dare say he did," Dumbledore replied, "Most children who attend Hogwarts, show signs of Magical ability at a very young age, we've had dozens of reported cases when a child has been highly emotional and something odd happens. Alexander's nephew was a rather emotional child, we had numerous reports on his habits – the final one however, before he came to Hogwarts, stumped the entire reptile and amphibian department of the London zoo. His cousin shoved him, and Harry proceeded to lock his cousin in the enclosure of a python."

"Okay." Oz sat back down, "So… Xander's a broomstick riding, cauldron stirring, card carrying wizard. He also happens to be related to Giles…" He looked at Buffy, "Another normal night on the Hellmouth."

The four remaining Scoobies watched as Dumbledore and Minerva rose from their seats. "I do believe that it is time we made our leave. Rupert, it was wonderful seeing you again. And a true pleasure to have finally met your family. Miss Summers, Miss Rosenberg, Mr Osbourne." He inclined his head to each. "I will write to you in three days time to find out your answers. Good evening." With one last smile, Dumbledore Apparated from the apartment with a loud crack.

"It was a true pleasure Rupert," Minerva smiled as she shook his hand, "as always." She turned to face Buffy, Oz and Willow. "It was also an honour to meet the young woman to whom you have dedicated your life's work. You truly are an amazing Slayer, Miss Summers. Do not let Quentin Travers tell you anything different." She smiled as Buffy blushed before turning to talk to Willow and Oz. "Mr Osbourne, whatever your decision may be, please, know that we will keep in touch. And you Miss Rosenberg." She gave them the friendliest smile she could muster before Apparating after Dumbledore. The foursome remained standing, staring at the place where Dumbledore and Minerva had just been.

"Well," Oz was the first to break the silence. "That was interesting."

"To quote Cordy, 'Understatement much?'" Buffy smiled before turning to watch Giles closely, "Are they one hundred per cent sure that Xander's their man Giles?" She asked softly.

He nodded, "They wouldn't have come if they weren't sure." He turned to look at them, "Albus Dumbledore has a way of knowing things… your inner most secrets, things you don't let other people see or-or hear, so, before he even sent Isabella out here to America; he knew who Xander was, knew where and what he was…"

"But… why now?" Willow asked, looking at Giles, her face filled with confusion. "I mean, they've had what… fourteen, fifteen years to come and take Xander back to England… why is it so special now? What makes this prophecy so much more important then the ones in the Codex?"

A small sigh passed Giles' lips and as per habit, he removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We're going to need a lot more tea."

"On it," Oz moved into the kitchen as Giles nodded his thanks and sank back into his chair.

Buffy sat back down beside Willow, watching Giles closely. "It has to do with this Voldemort guy, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Giles closed his eyes, gathering his rampant thoughts. "Voldemort is an incredibly powerful, dark Wizard. Forty years ago, he began to… terrorize the Wizarding community. Spouting beliefs that were prejudice and harmful to half the population…" His brow furrowed as he tried to find the right words to explain Voldemort's terror. "Imagine Hitler, only with a wealth of magical power to back him up." He opened one eye and saw the look of horror on Willow's face. "The Wizarding world can be, in some cases split into two categories. Pureblood Wizards; who can trace their magic as far back as Merlin, some even further… and Muggleborns; ordinary people whom just happen to be your luck of the draw Witches or Wizards," Giles sighed, so much had happened in such a short while, he was sure his brain was the equivalent of a scrambled egg.

"But, what's this got to do with Xander? I don't understand." Buffy's blue-green gaze focused intently on Giles.

"Xander is to help his nephew defeat Voldemort." Giles stated softly. "It's something I'd need to research thoroughly, and I'm afraid I can not do that here." Giles looked up at Buffy, his piercing gaze boring into her. "In three days I'll be leaving for England. I'm sorry Buffy."

She shook her head, "You need to go, even if it means that I'm here, Xander needs one of us there. But… I can't go… not yet," she smiled sadly before continuing. "The Hellmouth needs me here, at least until something can be done about Faith or a new Slayer and Watcher team."

Giles nodded, "Willow, you and Oz need to seriously think about the opportunities you already have. I know both of you have been accepted into several Universities world wide. But, this is something you will both need to consider at great length."

Willow nodded and looked towards the door as Oz came in bearing tea. "We'll talk it out, decide what to do and get back to you."

"Sounds like the start of a plan," Oz smiled as he doled out the cups of tea. "Whatever it is, we'll deal. We always do."

They sat in silence for the better part of an hour, each contemplating the news of Xander's heritage and Giles' role in his life. It was so much to take in, but like so many other things that had been thrown their way, they were rolling with the punches; at least they knew that Xander was safe for the time being, assurances were made by Giles when Willow questioned him, and again when Buffy was 'just making sure'.

As the clock struck midnight, Willow tried her best to stifle a yawn, "It's been a busy day," she murmured, rubbing her eyes.

"But, on the bright side," Buffy began, "it's summer and all things demon-y tend to head south this time of year."

"True," Oz smiled as he ran a hand down Willow's arm, "I think I'm gonna take Willow home now, Giles?" He looked to the older man and for the first time in two years; realized just how vulnerable he was when something or someone threatened his family.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Go home, get some rest." He nodded vaguely as he followed Oz and Willow to the door. "Buffy?"

"I think I'll stay for a bit, I still have some questions that need answering." She gave Willow and Oz a tiny wave as Giles shut the door.

"I'll put some more tea on then shall I?" Giles asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Actually, I'm pretty much all tea-ed out." Buffy smiled and motioned to his chair.

Giles gave a weary nod and moved to sit down, "I'm not entirely sure how much more I can tell you Buffy."

"I don't want to talk about Xander, Giles." She smiled and sat down on the sofa. "How are you holding up?"

Her Watcher snorted. "The young man I've looked to as a son for the last three years is my cousin and has now been whisked away to London with three of my oldest friends, his life has been placed in the hands of his fifteen year old nephew and he's going to be asked to face one of the most vile Wizards ever to have walked the earth." He looked over at her, "How do you think I feel?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "I meant about going back home to England. Not that I don't understand part of the frustration you must be feeling about Xander, if someone sprung a long-lost sister on me, I'd probably be feeling pissed off as well." She smiled sadly, "Xander's gonna be okay Giles, he's smarter then he acts, you know that. And, well, from what I gather, he's going to have a whole bunch of people watching his every move."

"I know, he just… I'm not entirely sure he knows what he's going into. Voldemort… he's incredibly dangerous. Not to mention even more insane then Faith." His entire body sagged into the chair.

"Giles, he'll be okay. Xander knows when to walk away from danger and when to stare it in the face. And you're avoiding my question. How do you feel about going home to England?"

"Terrified," he offered her a wane smile, "What about you? Will you be okay here on your own?"

"I'm a big girl now Giles, I can handle a few vampires, and if it gets too much, I can call Angel; he left his number with Willy before he left for L.A, and if she decides to stay, Willow's got my back on the research. Just… one thing?" She smiled up at him.

"What's that?"

"You think it'd be possible for you to move the Veil-y thing from where it is now, to wherever it is that you're going to be?"

"Buffy, I'm not…"

She cut him off, "Please Giles?" She stuck out her lower lip, "I'm going to need a sure-fire way of getting in touch with you if there's an emergency. And if Willow goes to England as well, well… please?"

Giles smiled and shook his head, "I'll see what I can do."

~*~

"…most inconsiderate, selfish, not to mention downright irresponsible! Have you any idea what Harry's going through? Of course not! Why should you? After all, he only believes that you're dead! You just thank your lucky stars he'll be coming here tomorrow evening before going to those Muggles that call themselves Family!" The red-haired tornado, introduced to Xander as Molly Weasley finished in a huff before turning to Xander. "Now, how are you dear? Port Key is always unsettling first time 'round, would you like a nice cup of tea? That'll settle the nerves." She turned and bustled towards the doorway leading to the kitchen.

Xander looked at Remus and Isabella who were trying not to laugh and looking anywhere but at Sirius who was looking thoroughly told off. "Uh… is she… does she… is she always like that?"

Sirius glared at the other two before turning to Xander; "Molly Weasley is… No. She's only like that when someone has put her in a state of upset."

"And only when Sirius -"

"Or George and Myself -"

"Have done something wrong." The Twins appeared at the top of the staircase, identical grins on their faces.

Xander jumped a little before spinning around to face them.

"Xander; let me introduce you." Sirius clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Fred and George Weasley, Alexander Potter."

Xander held out his hand as the twins approached, "Hey."

"Blimey," they moved slowly in a circle around Xander.

"He doesn't half -"

"Look like Harry." The stopped and stared at Xander before flicking their gazes to Sirius and Remus, awaiting an explanation.

Just then Molly reappeared, "You two had better not be hassling anybody." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at them, "You're both in enough trouble as it is."

Remus coughed a little drawing her attention away from the twins before she went into another full-scale rant.

"Now, you just come into the kitchen love," she smiled at Xander, "Tea's on. Isabella, are you staying?"

"Yes Molly," the young brunette had stayed silent, save for her laughter when Sirius was getting balled out by Molly, "I've some things still to discuss with Uncle Albus." She smiled and followed Molly into the kitchen.

Xander hesitated before a nod from Sirius had him following the two women down the hallway.

"She's still angry about you two leaving school then?" Sirius looked between the two boys.

"Not as much as she was," Fred smiled.

"She's coming around." George beamed, "So, are you going to tell us who the yank is?"

"In the kitchen," Remus raised an eyebrow at the twins who nodded and hurried down the hallway and out of sight. As Sirius moved to follow, his hand came down on the other man's shoulder. "Once everyone's gone to bed this evening, you and I are going to have a rather long talk about the proper behaviour during a Wizarding battle." His amber eyes did little to hide the whirl of emotions: fear, grief, anger and relief.

Sirius nodded, having the good graces to look ashamed, his own hand coming up to cover Remus'. He knew what he'd done was bordering on unforgivable, but he'd had a reason… several of them. And he knew that once Remus had finally gotten it all out of his system; it would leave only Harry to tell him off. He looked up, a tiny smile lighting up his blue eyes. "C'mon, best not to leave them all waiting."

Remus nodded and followed Sirius into the kitchen. The pair had to hide their smirks as Molly continued to grumble and shot glares in the direction of the twins. "Do you need any help Molly?" Remus asked; patting Sirius on the shoulder as he sat down.

"No thank you dear," She smiled brightly at Remus, "you just sit down. I can't believe Dumbledore had you port-keyed half way across the world… At least he didn't get you to Apparate."

Sirius and Isabella looked at Remus as he sat down, eyebrows raised. He shook his head slightly and looked at Xander who was staring blankly at the table. Sirius noticed as well and spoke up first. "Are you alright Xander?"

"Yeah, just… thinking. Are you sure you've got the right guy? I mean… don't get me wrong, any life is better compared to the one I had, but… I'm not really… If you want magic, you need Willow for that; and if you want someone to kill the bad guys, you need Buffy and Giles."

"Here you go dear," Molly set a steaming cup of tea in front of him. "I'm sure Dumbledore has the right man, he's never wrong." She placed a hand on Xander's shoulder and sat down beside him.

"Thanks." Xander's hand wrapped around the tea cup; soaking up its warmth.

"What kind of name is Buffy?" George scoffed slightly,

Xander's eyes flashed, "She's one of my best friends, she's The Slayer."

"Good one George, you've put your foot in it now." Fred rolled his eyes, "wait… did you say The Slayer? As in The Vampire Slayer?" At Xander's nod, he let out a low whistle. "Bloody hell."

Sirius smiled, "I think there's only one way we can be sure that you're who you are." He pulled his wand from his robes and aimed it at the door, "_Accio_ Prongs' diary." They heard a small thud before a book came flying into the room to Sirius' waiting hands. "Before that cock up with Peter and…" He trailed off, "James gave me this. Told me that once his brother came of age to pass it to him; but after your disappearance I was going to give it to Harry instead."

Xander looked at the tattered book, eyeing it sceptically.

"It's bound by magic, blood magic." Remus smiled apologetically at Molly's sound of disgust. "Nothing that serious Molly, I promise."

"_Accio_ knife," Sirius flicked his wand again, mindful as the knife flew to his hands. "I've tried opening it, countless times, but sadly – James and I were only friends, not blood relatives." He held up the knife, "It'll only hurt for a moment."

Xander raised an eyebrow, "I take it you've never had a Slayer try to strangle the life out of you…" He took the knife and drew the blade across the palm of his hand. The twins were suitably impressed when he didn't even so much as flinch. "Now what?" He set the knife aside, cradling his palm as the blood welled up.

"Run your hand along the spine of the book, if you're indeed Alexander Potter, the book should open. If you're not, well…" Sirius trailed off.

"You'll end up with a black eye." Remus chuckled softly. "One of James more tame hexes."

Xander looked at Sirius and smirked. Slowly, he ran his cut palm down the spine of the book, his eyes widening as the lock clicked and the front page fell open.

"You're definitely a Potter now Xander." Sirius beamed.

"Hand please." Molly reached for Xander's arm, waving her own wand across the cut, watching as it healed over.

"Would someone -"

"Please explain what's -"

"Going on?" The twins finished in unison.

Xander closed the book and set it aside, "I'm James Potter's little brother." He took a long sip of his now, lukewarm tea and sat back as Sirius, Isabella and Remus began to re-tell the story of Reginald and Celeste Potter and their son Alexander.

"And Harry doesn't know?" Molly looked between Remus and Sirius who shook their heads.

"He'll know soon enough, I think Dumbledore was going to take him aside once they returned to Hogwarts and explain everything to him then." Remus smiled softly, "It'll be alright Molly, you'll see."

"And you've spent the last three years helping The Slayer? On top of The Hellmouth?" George's expression of awe was mirrored on his brother's face.

"Yeah, although, last summer it was just Willow, Oz, Cordelia and I doing all the slaying; Buffy needed to take a get away for a bit."

"Blimey -"

"And you didn't use any magic?"

"Nope… well, except for Willow, though she doesn't like to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Is she underage?"

Xander tried his best not to look confused, "No, some of the spells she was casting though… Giles' would probably have a fit if he knew."

The faces of Fred and George Weasley lit up with excitement; however, was quickly squashed as their mother spoke. "I wouldn't even think about it you two; you're both in enough trouble as it is."

They slumped back into their seats, an outward sign of defeat; however, the sparkle in their startling blue eyes did not go unnoticed by anyone but their mother.

"I'm sure Harry will be excited once the shock wears off, that child needs all the family he can get." She shared a look with Sirius, the same light seeing to pop on behind their eyes. "Especially blood relatives…" She stressed the word blood and Sirius gave a sly little nod.

"Molly…" Remus' tone held a note of warning, "We've told you what Dumbledore said…"

"I know very well what Dumbledore said Remus," She gave him an innocent smile, "I would never dream of going against his wishes. You know that."

Xander's confusion increased as he looked between the pair.

"I know that look Molly Weasley, I've seen it often enough." Remus gave what he hoped was a forceful enough look to get the ideas out of Molly's and Sirius' head.

"Remus, she was just saying how nice it'll be for Harry to have someone… family… that isn't us lot." Sirius smiled, though there was a knowing glint in his blue eyes.

Isabella smirked as recognition dawned on her. Until now she had remained silent – save for when she was discussing the duty given to her by Dumbledore. "Yes, it'll be a nice change for the boy no doubt. After all, I went to school with you both for seven years, I know how boring you can be. Not to mention monotonous." She smirked at Sirius and gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.

Leaning over towards the twins, Xander lowered his voice, "What's happening?"

The twins pulled their gaze away from the conversation in front of them, "Not here." George whispered.

Faking a yawn, Fred moved to stand up, "Well, it's been fun -"

"But we're going to bed -"

"Good to see you're alive and kicking Sirius." They stood up, Fred nudging Xander as he did so before leaning down to kiss his mum on the cheek. "Night."

"I think I might turn in too. I hope you don't mind but…" Xander looked around at the faces in front of him, "It's been a long day… night…" he stood up and held his hand out to Molly, "It was nice meeting you Mrs Weasley. Sirius, Remus, Isabella." He smiled, grabbed James' book and moved towards the door. "Oh, and tomorrow… we're going to be sorting out my parents' things aren't we? I'd like to find out a little more about them and my brother… if that's okay?"

"Merlin! Of course its okay Xander, we'll take you down to Diagon Alley tomorrow before we go and pick up Harry and the others." Sirius beamed at him, "Welcome home Xander." He waved the young man off before turning back to the conversation at hand.

~*~

"I'm gonna miss you ya know," Buffy smiled softly from her place on the sofa.

"I doubt you'll even realize I'm gone." Giles' tone was light to match the tone of conversation they'd been having for the past hour. Gone were the worries over the other's emotional state, as were the continued arguments of how Buffy would fare on her own if Willow left as well. "How's your side?" He motioned to the torn and bloodied cloth of Buffy's blouse.

"Good… actually, it's probably better then I've ever seen it. Okay, so the shirt's a total write off, but your friend Remus said that I wouldn't even scar." She lifted her head and looked at Giles, "Which reminds me, how come you've never done that before?" At his look of confusion, she continued. "You know, with the magic and the stick-y thing and the poof?"

"It's called a magic wand Buffy, and you know very well why I've never done that before." He looked down at his hands, "After James and Lily were murdered, I wanted out from being a Watcher, they were out, fighting for their lives against Voldemort, and I was at the academy, safe as houses. I thought my best friend had killed my cousin and his wife and their friend, so I turned to the friendship I had with Ethan. Then, after Randall…" He lifted his head, "After that, it was easier to adopt muggle life and focus on my duties as a Watcher. I haven't used my wand in thirteen years. I only used it today, because when Sirius fell through the mirror, I viewed him as a threat, not just to me, but to, to you and the others. An accomplished Wizard such as Sirius Black who murdered twenty people with one solid hex and one Wizard is a fight I'd rather you never have to face."

"But he didn't…"

"I know that now, and when I get my hands on Peter Pettigrew, he'll rue the day he ever messed with the Giles family… Besides, I'm much more adept at Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions, Charms work was always more James' style then mine."

"It's funny, we've never really given much thought to there being a whole other world where magic is like… an every day occurrence, even though my best friend's a witch, her boyfriend's a werewolf and my Watcher has a wicked swing with a flaming baseball bat."

Giles chuckled, "Well, you'll at least save on aspirin while I'm in England. And I'll save on concussions. Though, truth be told, after three years with you lot, I'm not sure I can stand the solitude and privacy Hogwarts will give me."

A giggle bubbled up from her throat before it metamorphosed into side-splitting guffaws. "Xander will be there Giles, so, I think it's safe to say you aren't getting away from us that easily."

"I'm sorry that you can't come, I think you'd have enjoyed meeting some of the more pleasant people from my past."

Buffy sighed softly and shook her head, "I can't leave the Hellmouth until a new Slayer arrives, or if Faith wakes up and decides she doesn't want to be on the Crazy, Evil Bitch train anymore."

Giles nodded, "When I get to England, I'll see what we can do about getting you over for a visit before the summer ends."

"Cool," Buffy stifled a yawn… barely. "Well Watcher-mine, I think I'm going to head home, tell Mom the latest news in this Slayer Soap Opera. But, I'll be back tomorrow to help you pack. Okay?" She beamed at his nod, no matter how hesitant it had been. Standing up she stretched, completely oblivious to the green gaze watching the movement of her lithe form. "Night Giles, sweet dreams."

"Yes, you too Buffy, and do be careful walking home." His body stiffened with shock as her arms wrapped around his waist in a tight hug, before he squeezed her back.

"Love ya. See you tomorrow." She gave a tiny wave as she bounced out of the apartment complex.

Giles shut the door slowly before whipping his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Love you too, Buffy." Turning off the lights and locking the door, Giles made his way up to the loft, all of a sudden feeling as though he'd battled the denizens of Sunnydale single-handedly.

~*~

"Izzy, you may want to go check that he's not up to something. God knows that we don't need Mad Eye *or* Dumbledore breathing down our necks about this." Sirius looked at the petite brunette, giving her his most charming smile. "Tell him I'll be up in the Library in about ten minutes, I'm just putting on a new pot of tea… tell him anything, just don't tell him what we've been talking about."

Isabella smiled brightly, "Mum's the word." She stood up from her chair, pushing her chestnut waves back from her face, "Night Molly, it was wonderful seeing you again."

"Pleasant dreams dear. I'll see you in the morning." The older woman watched; a tiny sparkle in her eyes as Isabella hesitatingly kissed Sirius on the cheek goodnight. She waited until she and Sirius were alone before speaking. "It's good to see you three back together again," she stated, "Although I presume that bruise on your face is from Isabella and not Remus."

Sirius chuckled, "It is, although, I'm not sure back together is entirely correct. We've still got a lot to talk about, especially now that Xander is here and, well…" he trailed off.

"Yes, now, you're sure you know the correct way to perform the ritual?" She asked, leaning forward on her elbows.

"Yes, I once used it on Regulus when we were younger, hiding him from our father." He pushed back his dark hair to look Molly in the face, "I can explain it all to Xander tomorrow, we can have it done tomorrow night and Harry need never return to those God awful muggles that call themselves his family."

"And Dumbledore?"

"He can't very well refute it Molly. Harry's only reason for staying with the Dursley's has been the protection afforded him by Petunia's blood connection to Lily, with Xander here, we can make sure Harry's as safe as if he were at Hogwarts. Not only will both boys have the protection afforded to them by blood kin, but they've got a houseful of Wizards and Witches to make sure they're protected at all times."

The tiny red-head nodded. "Very well Sirius," She smiled, "He'll be with the people that love him, he'll be home, well and truly home…" She beamed as they both stood up. "Now, I suggest you keep your talk with Remus and Isabella short and get some rest. We've all got a busy day tomorrow." She rounded the table and wrapped her arms around him in a motherly hug, "And don't you ever scare us like that again, or you'll have my full temper to deal with."

Sirius chuckled softly, his arms coming up to pat Molly on the back, "I promise Molly, I'm sorry for upsetting you."

She sniffled once before nodding. "Don't forget to take a pot of tea up to Remus; otherwise he'll be onto us like white on snow."

"Yes Molly, now, you get to bed and rest. Arthur will kill me if you're up the rest of the night fretting."

She nodded and bid him goodnight a final time before disappearing down the hall and up the stairs.

A quickly muttered spell and charm, and Sirius was following her, tea tray laden with cups, biscuits and freshly brewed tea floating in front of him as he went to find Remus.


	5. Secrets

Xander rolled over, burying his face into his pillow. He'd had the most bizarre dream; apparently he was adopted and Giles was friends with a talking dog and eagle… A loud thud penetrated his thoughts. It was far too early for the fighting to start, of that he was sure. Prying open a sleepy eye he glanced at his wristwatch, the numbers seemed to mock him – three-thirty am. But that wasn't right; he could feel the sun on the back of his head. Perhaps it had stopped? Only when it blinked over to three-thirty-one am did he roll out of bed, blinking away the last vestiges of sleep and looked around. He was in London somewhere, he wasn't entirely sure the exact address and he was with Sirius, Giles' friend from school, who could turn into a dog at will, though he didn't talk.

The remainder of the evening had been uneventful; after they'd left the kitchen, Fred and George had explained certain things to Xander, namely what Molly and Sirius were more then likely plotting, and what Remus was trying to dissuade them from doing. They'd even gone so far as to telling Xander about the Joke store "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" and, in light of the new face to their small family, had declared they'd name one of the new treats of the Skiving Snack Boxes after him – 'Zeppos' – the green end, when taken, would cause a thick, black moustache to appear and bushy eyebrows to match, the blue end, would end it all. The twins had since proclaimed Xander their new best friend.

Stretching, Xander reached for the small overnight bag he'd managed to put together before leaving his childhood home the night before and threw on a clean pair of pants and shirt. As he sat down to put on his sneakers, a glint of dark, red leather caught his eye – THE book, as he'd taken to calling it – he'd read it from cover to cover after the twins had gone to their own rooms, and even with all the words of brotherly wisdom left to him by James, he was still none the wiser to the world he'd suddenly been popped into. Standing up quickly, he made the bed and grabbed the book before making his way downstairs.

As he reached the landing, the smell of bacon and eggs assaulted his nose and made his stomach growl. Moving quickly and quietly, he hurried to the kitchen, only to be greeted by Molly, Sirius, Remus and Isabella and a man he was sure that had to be related to the twins.

"Morning Xander," Sirius beamed as he looked up from his conversation with Remus and Isabella.

"Morning," he gave a wary smile, it felt… almost alien to be greeted with smiles first thing in the morning. The only time it had ever happened was when he'd stayed at Buffy's house. Willow's parents, when they'd been growing up had not always been around, and Jesse's father was as bad as his own.

"Xander, this is Arthur Weasley, Molly's husband." Remus motioned to the red-headed man who had risen from his seat, ready to shake hands.

"Hello." He couldn't help but return the warm smile as Arthur shook his hand enthusiastically.

"Molly told me all about it when I got in last night… You really lived as a Muggle all this time?"

His eyes were wide with excitement and Xander couldn't help but grin, "Not to mention, you're friends with The Slayer, this must all seem rather dull compared to that."

"Well, my oldest friend in the world is a witch, and her boyfriend's a werewolf, so…" Xander trailed off, "But most of this is new to me, like a whole world where you pretty much live by magic… that's new. I mean, Willow would die if she were here right now."

Arthur smiled as Molly bustled over, "Now, I wasn't sure what you'd eat for breakfast Alexander, so I've made pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, porridge, there are also muffins, kippers, tea, coffee, pumpkin juice and fresh fruit."

Xander's eyes widened, "You didn't have to go to all that trouble Mrs Weasley." He sat down in an empty chair and watched as she manoeuvred all the food from the stove to the table with a swift flick of her wand.

"You should be grateful-"

"She never cooks like this for us," said Fred and George as they stumbled into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

"The only person we've seen her cook like that for is Harry." George sat down and started piling food onto his plate.

"Rubbish!" Molly glared at her two sons, "I cook like this often enough at home… filling the poor boy's head with rubbish." She continued to grumble as she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea, "Well, go on Alexander, eat."

Xander looked around and noticed that everybody was already digging in, a quick shrug of his shoulders and he followed suit.

Breakfast was filled with idle conversation, most of it revolving around Xander's life in Sunnydale, the demons he'd helped Buffy fight, the things he'd done growing up. The twins were delighted to find out that he'd had a hand in helping to blow up Sunnydale High, and he'd been intrigued to discover that Angel wasn't the only vampire to ever be cursed with a soul. It was something he'd have to talk to Giles about… once they'd sorted out their other issues of course.

They were just finishing up their third helpings of breakfast when the comfortable chatter was broken by ear splitting shrieks.

"BLOOD TRAITORS! DIFILING THE HOME OF MY FATHERS! MUDBLOOD SCUM! FILTH!"

Xander almost fell out of his seat, his eyes scanning the room for whatever it was.   
Molly sighed and ran a hand over her face and Sirius and Remus ran for the hall, cursing as they went.

"Sorry! Sorry Sirius, it's that bloody troll leg, I keep tripping over it." A voice floated in from the hallway, "Sorry Molly." A petite girl with bright purple hair entered the kitchen, "I honestly think it knows when I'm coming over and moves itself into position for me to trip over it… Hello."

Xander looked up, "Uh, hi."

"Alexander Potter, meet Nymphadora Tonks," George smirked as the young witch glared at him.

"The name is Tonks," she ground out, "and don't you forget it George Arthur Weasley."

Fred snickered, "Tonks, this is Xander. Harry's long lost uncle."

Tonks' eyes lit up, "Wotcher Xander," she moved forward, her hand outstretched. "I didn't know Harry had an uncle. But Merlin, you look like him."

Xander shook her hand, unable to look away from her bright blue eyes, "I didn't know I had a nephew until about twelve hours ago."

Tonks laughed, "Well, good news all around then." She smiled and stepped back just as Sirius and Remus returned from quieting the beast in the hallway.

"I will find a way to get rid of that bloody thing once and for all, even if I have to burn this place to the ground to do so." Sirius grumbled before he was engulfed by the arms of his cousin.

"That was a stupid, stupid thing to do Sirius, don't ever do it again." She muttered into his shirt. "I thought for sure you were dead." She looked up at him and smiled, "You're all the family I've got left Sirius, aside from mum and dad of course, and well, Aunt Narcissa and that ferret of a son, but you're the only family that I actually talk to."

"I won't Dora," he smiled; ruffling her hair slightly, "us Black's have to stick together." He turned to Xander, completely missing the roll of Tonks' eyes and the muttered "It's Tonks." Sirius continued, "That screeching was my dear old mother, she's not a big fan of… well… us lot. You tend to forget that she's there after a while."

Xander nodded as he sat back in his chair, "Alright then."

It wasn't long after, that Xander, along with everyone at Grimmauld Place all left for Diagon Alley to see the joke shop bought with the money Fred and George had spent a better part of the year saving. Xander was gob smacked as he entered the Wizarding shopping district, never before had he seen a place that was teeming with life and bright colours – and he lived two hours from Los Angeles. Without thinking, he reached up to check his jacket's inner pocket, the small envelope was still safely tucked away, waiting for the right moment. He stood a little back from the group, trying to memorize everything so he could recall it for Willow and Buffy at a later time.

The twins were happily chattering away with Sirius, Isabella, Tonks and Remus over their new store, which would be opening in only a matter of weeks while Molly tried her best not to listen, all the while muttering about their education and holding down respectable jobs like their brothers. Arthur seemed to be the only one happy to remain quiet, and oblivious to his seething wife and ecstatic children, occasionally pointing out shops to Xander.

It was when the group had finally come to a halt outside a seemingly empty store front plastered with posters advertising the Grand Opening of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, that Xander approached Remus, pulling him away from the group at large.

"What's wrong?" The weary looking wizard asked softly.

"In that… book, diary thing, it said I should give you this, and not Sirius." Xander gave a tiny smile, producing the envelope from his pocket and handing it over.

Remus' brow furrowed in confusion as he opened the letter, "Did anything else come with this?" He asked, looking from the parchment to Xander.

"A key," the younger man patted his pocket.

"Right then," unfolding the parchment, Remus began to read.

_"Right then little brother, _

If you've gotten this letter, it means you've gotten the book, no doubt Sirius has suffered a couple of black eyes – serves the git right for sticking his nose in other people's business.   
Though don't tell him I said that.

Before the Fidelius was cast, I took the liberty of setting you up your very own Gringotts account; I put all of what mum and dad saved for you, including half of my own earnings into it for safe keeping until you were old enough to understand what happened and why it happened. I'm sorry you've been on your own, but no doubt with all that Potter charm, you've got the ladies lined up around the corner and an amazing circle of friends.

You need to give this letter to Remus; he'll show you where to go. Do not give this to Sirius; Merlin knows he'll probably convince you into spending it on rubbish like invisibility cloaks and flying motorcycles.

Sirius is a good man Alex, but he's hopeless when it comes to keeping track of finances – don't tell him I said that though – and Remus is naturally the smarter of the two. They're good lads Alex, they'll help you find your way, and more importantly they'll look out for you and love you like a brother. Just… keep an open mind.

Keep an eye on Harry for me will you? Merlin only knows what kind of trouble he'll get into as he gets older.

Chin up little brother, give Rupert a firm, manly handshake for me when you next see him… if you see him, and remember, it's not how high you fly that matters, it's how you handle your broom.

Love,   
Your (dashing) big brother, James."

Remus chuckled as he folded the letter and tucked it away. "I think he thought of everything your brother. Pompous git that he was," he handed Xander back the envelope. "I'll just let everyone know we've gone to Gringotts and then we'll head over there alright?"

Xander nodded, putting the envelope away and watching as Remus returned to the group, watching how he interacted with Sirius and the others. His brother's journal had been full of surprising bits and pieces about the two men that now seemed to be his family, including their relationship and their relationship with Isabella. He smirked as Remus said something that made Sirius scowl and Isabella laugh before the tawny haired werewolf returned.

"Well, let's get a wriggle on shall we?" Remus smiled and clapped Xander on the shoulder, steering him towards Gringotts.

As they crossed the street, Xander eyed Remus carefully, "Can I, uh, ask you something?" He asked, turning his gaze back to the road in front of them.

"You may."

"I read that diary from cover to cover last night, he said some pretty interesting things James, like being able to turn into a Stag, which I knew because Sirius told us all yesterday, but… other things… things about you and Sirius and Isabella…" He trailed off.

"Ahh, yes. James did have a rather big mouth." Remus led Xander up the steps of Gringotts.

"Well…"

"Not that I mind, nope, I'm all open minded Xander, this is me being open minded. I just thought I should let you know that James told me in the diary." Xander felt his cheeks heat up.

"No, no that's fine. It's just… well, Sirius obviously told you about his time in prison," he gave a sad smile when Xander nodded, "He's been on the run from the ministry for three years, and last night was the first night all three of us were actually in the same room as each other, so… who knows." Remus stopped just short of the doors leading inside the building. "I remember when you were younger… Harry had just been born, you were about three or four, you weren't just James' brother, you were all of ours; James' and Sirius'… mine. Sirius doted on both you and Harry, telling you some of the most ludicrous stories he could come up with. When Sirius was arrested and Harry was taken to the Dursley's; I came to visit you, your parents told me they were leaving. You cried for two hours, asking me if I could come. You didn't understand much of what was happening, only that James, Lily, Harry and Sirius were gone and that now you were going away too." Remus gave a dry chuckle, devoid of all humour. "You promised you'd be well behaved and would stop pulling Padfoot's tail and my hair if I could just come with you." He reached out and placed a hand on Xander's shoulder, "Your outburst at Rupert's house last night made me wish I had. I'm sorry for all that's happened."

Xander looked away, hating that he couldn't recall this memory, that he couldn't recall the images of his mother and father. Of his brother, "It's alright, I turned out okay. A little slow on some math and spatial relations, but not a complete idiot… do you think that they'd -"

Remus nodded, "Mr. and Mrs. Potter would be extremely proud, as would James. And I'm sure, once Sirius and I get to know you again, and you get to know your nephew, it will not make up for what you've missed out on, but it may help a little."

Xander nodded, "I hope so too, I just… I hope I turn out okay, I'm not exactly known for my ability to well…" he shrugged, "I'm the donut boy. Buffy, Willow and Oz are the special ones. I just fetch the donuts and coffee."

Remus shook his head, "I'm positive that you will shine at Hogwarts. It's in your blood. You just need time to adjust and catch up with the other young adults your age." He gave Xander a small smile, "Now come on, time for you to get whatever it is that James left in your possession."

Xander nodded and followed Remus up the stairs, barely paying attention to the 'Goblin', as Remus explained to him, that held open the doors. He'd seen far worse things on the Hellmouth. Xander produced the key on command before a goblin led them down to the track that would take them to his vault in the bowels of the building. Xander enjoyed the ride, it was like Space Mountain at Disneyland, only according to Remus real dragons lived in many of the caverns. When they finally came to a stop, the Goblin jumped out of the cart, Xander and Remus following as he turned the key into the lock on the safe door. His face paled as the goblin opened vault number eight-hundred and seventy-three. He turned to Remus slowly, an identical look of shock on the werewolf's face.

"Are your sure we've got the right vault?"

"You're Alexander Phillip Potter, are you not?" The goblin huffed.

"Uh, as far as we know," Xander raised an eyebrow and looked at Remus who nodded. "Yes."

"Then this is your vault. Take what you need please." The goblin stepped aside, watching as Xander and Remus moved into the vault.

"Uh, Remus?" Xander looked around, unable to believe his eyes, gold and sliver glittered in the flickering torch light, highlighted with bronze.

"Twenty-nine knuts to a sickle, seventeen sickles to a galleon." Remus explained, handing Xander a decent sized leather pouch. "The bronze ones are called Knuts – think of them like pence, the silver ones are like sickles and the gold ones are like galleons." He smiled as Xander's brow furrowed in confusion. "Sorry, pence, pennies. Sickles are like, quarters and galleons are like the Wizarding version of pounds… or dollars."

Xander gave a short nod, "Alrighty then." He proceeded quickly to fill the leather pouch with some of each before turning and leaving the vault. "Thanks." He said, looking down at the goblin that was waiting patiently by the door to close it.

"You're welcome," he nodded at Remus and pushed the door closed before twisting the key and handing it back to Xander. The ride back up to the Gringotts building was spent in quiet contemplation. Xander had never even fathomed having that much money before, not even in his wildest dreams.

The pair were back out in the sunshine before Remus turned to Xander, his brow wrinkled. "Did the muggles… Ahh, your parents, not use your middle name?"

"Yes, though… it wasn't Phillip," Xander felt his stomach churn at the thought of the middle name he'd been saddled with by Anthony and Jessica Harris. "On my birth certificate… the one they have, it says Alexander LaVelle Harris." He grimaced, "I've always hated LaVelle, my mom told me once it was in recognition of an old aunt I'd had."

Remus couldn't help the affronted snort that passed his lips. "Old aunt indeed. Your full name is Alexander Phillip Potter. You were named after an uncle who was, by all accounts quite put out when your real parents didn't name James after him."

"What about Giles... Uhh... Rupert?"

Remus chuckled, "His mother was your father's sister, a lovely lady, though rather strict. She didn't much like it when Sirius, James or I paid Rupert visits during the school holidays. She said we were always getting him into some sort of trouble."

Xander laughed, "That would explain why he's pretty much a tight ass around the reference books."

"There you are!"

Xander looked up just in time to see Fred, George and Sirius all roll their eyes as Molly ran up to them. "We've got just enough time to have a nice lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and get your wand Alex before we have to head to Kings Cross to pick up Harry, Ron and the others."

"Molly…" Remus' tone was warning, "Harry will be returning to the Dursley's, you know that."

"Yes, yes Remus dear," She waved him off and grabbed both their hands, pulling them along down the street to catch up with the others. "Did you get all that you needed dear?" She asked, looking over at Xander.

"Yeah, thanks Mrs. Weasley." He smiled as they caught up to Fred and George.

"How's the shop coming along boys?" Remus asked, straightening his robes.

"Brilliant -"

"We'll be making galleons hand over wand in no time." Fred beamed.

"Not to mention the money that's already coming in through the Owl Orders," George shared a secret smile with Fred as their mother hurried ahead.

"What are you two up to?" Remus asked, keeping his voice low.

"Well, Fred and I have been talking about it, and -" George began.

"We've already got plenty of galleons already saved away, with the start up from our silent investor, the Owl Orders we've been taking since last summer and through-out the year -" Fred continued.

"We're going to ask Sirius if we could buy Grimmauld Place." George announced proudly.

"You're what?" Remus' eyes had grown wide.

"Well -"

"The way we see it," Fred smiled brightly,

"He no longer needs the house, being a free man and all, and we're practically living there anyway -"

"We just thought it would be a good idea to make it official." Fred and George's grins were triumphant.

"What about the Burrow?"

"We'll still keep that, naturally." George gave a sly smirk.

"After all, if Percy the Prat ever gets his head out of his arse, he'll need somewhere to visit." Fred sniggered as someone approached him from behind.

"What's all this then?" Arthur asked softly, bowing his head to listen to the conversation.

"Nothing dad, just… planning a surprise for mum once we open the store," George smiled.

"Ahh, very well then. Alex, Ollivander's is just over there, Sirius is waiting, and I think he wanted to be there when you picked out your wand. We'll be waiting inside the Leaky Cauldron once you're done."

Xander nodded and watched as Arthur led the twins back to their mother, Isabella and some woman with shockingly pink hair. He tapped Remus on the shoulder as they made their way to Sirius, "What happened to Tonks?"

"Hmm?" Remus looked around, "Nothing. Why?" He smirked when he noticed the young woman staring intently at Xander.

"She's not with the Weasley's." Xander looked around and smiled warily at the young woman with bright pink hair.

"Yes she is."

"Who is?" Sirius asked as they finally joined him.

"Your cousin," Remus smirked.

"Tonks? What about her?" Sirius asked, turning to look over at the witch as she tried to apologize to an elderly witch and help her with the bags she'd just knocked over.

"She's gone." Xander said a hint of exasperation in his tone.

"No she's not."

Xander tried his best not to get frustrated. "Well where is she? One minute she was with Mrs. Weasley, the next she's gone."

Sirius and Remus tried not to laugh; Xander looked even more like James when he was frustrated.

"See that pink haired witch? The one helping to try and right those chairs she just knocked over?" Sirius pointed across the street. "That's Tonks."

Xander made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. "If you two are gonna yank my chain, I'm going in to get my wand thing." He turned on his heel and marched into the store. He was often the butt of the joke back in Sunnydale, especially when Cordelia and Angel had been around. He wasn't going to stand for it now, in a new place. Not when he had so much lost time to make up for.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and Remus shook his head. "Do you think we should tell him about Nymphadora being a metamorphmagus?" He asked softly, holding the door open to Ollivander's.

"No," Sirius replied with a smirk, "Let Tonks tell him. Did you see the way she was gawking at him over breakfast?"

"I did, and he was gawking right back." Remus smiled as they entered the shop, halting the conversation as they saw Xander.

"May I help you?" An old man appeared from the rear of the store. "Ahhh, Mr. Lupin, it's been a while since you came in here. Twelve Inches, birch with a dragon heart string core if I remember correctly."

"Mr. Ollivander," Remus nodded a tiny smile on his face. "You are correct," he tapped his robe pocket.

"And Mr. Black!" Ollivander clutched his chest. "I had heard you'd been cleared of all charges. You'll need a new wand I take it?" His cool grey eyes bored into Sirius.

"Yes," he nodded, "I've been using a spare wand of the Weasley's for the past year." He stepped up as a golden tape measure began to take his measurements.

Finally Ollivander turned to look at Xander, "I'm not entirely sure I remember you." He stepped closer, taking in Xander's appearance. "You aren't by any chance related to Harry and James Potter are you?"

Xander nodded, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end under such close scrutiny. "I… I need a wand too."

Ollivander raised an eyebrow, "You're American."

"Uh, yeah…" Xander looked to Remus and Sirius for help.

"He's a transfer, never had a wand before." Sirius spoke up as the tape measure wriggled up his inner-leg.

"You're the brother of James Potter?" Ollivander moved towards a set of shelves, weighed down by boxes, piled floor to ceiling.

"I am." Xander moved his hand to rub the back of his neck, unable to shake the uneasy feeling he was getting from the proprietor.

"Yes, I had wondered why you hadn't come in to my store after your eleventh birthday." He muttered to himself, pulling boxes down and setting them into two piles. "Your original wand was thirteen inches, cherry with unicorn hair, was it not Mr. Black?" When Sirius nodded, he grinned. "Try one of these." He set a pile of boxes down on the counter in front of Sirius.

"Uhh," Xander watched as Sirius started going through the boxes, carefully so as not to blow up the shop. He jumped when he felt something slide up the inside of his arm.

"Here you go Mr. Potter." Ollivander handed Xander a box before heading back to another set of shelves packed with boxes.

"Grasp the wand firmly in your wand hand, or writing hand as Muggles call it, and give it a tiny flick." Remus whispered, turning away to hide his smirk when Xander did as instructed and a stack of paper work was blown over.

"This one," Ollivander handed him another box before turning to Sirius who was beaming. "Thirteen inches, birch with a dragon heart string core." The old man smirked and looked between Remus and Sirius who both had the good graces to blush. "That will be seven Galleons, three Sickles and five knuts."

Sirius handed the coins over quickly before turning to Xander who was opening yet another box.

Xander's brow furrowed when his hand grew warm as it wrapped around the thin piece of wood. A tiny flick of his wrist and the papers he'd been blowing around the store righted themselves. "Was that a good thing?" He asked, looking between the three men.

"I should say so Mr. Potter, you see, it's not the wizard who chooses the wand, but the wand that chooses the wizard." He smiled as he accepted the wand back from Xander, "Eleven inches, oak with a phoenix feather core. Very nice indeed, also very interesting. You see, you are the fifth Potter to come into my store and receive a wand with a phoenix feather core."

Xander made a small 'oh' sound as Ollivander placed the wand back in its box and wrapped it up. "Ten Galleons, three Sickles and two Knuts," he smiled as Xander counted out the coins from the leather pouch. "Have a pleasant day." He nodded before disappearing back in amongst the shelves.

Sirius and Remus led Xander out of the store, clutching his purchase tightly in his hand, his gaze scanning the crowd every so often until the uneasy feeling in his stomach passed. "We'll spend the summer teaching you how to use your wand," Sirius was saying softly, ignoring the stares of other witches and wizards as they walked past.

Xander nodded turning and looking up at the unlikely pair before leaning in and lowering his voice. "Why are people staring?"

Sirius shrugged; his face a perfect picture of nonchalance. "They've probably never seen three devilishly handsome men all in one place before," he winked at Xander who gave a tiny snort of laughter while Remus shook his head.

"It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that up until yesterday evening when Rufus Scrimgeour told the Evening Prophet otherwise, you were still considered a mass murderer and a follower of Voldemort, could it?" Remus looked closely at Sirius, one eyebrow arched in question.

"Well, yes that could have something to do with it," Sirius smiled at Xander before turning to Remus, his blue eyes glinting mischievously, "However, I still maintain that they've never seen three men as handsome as us walking down the streets of Diagon Alley."

Remus rolled his eyes and Xander held the door to the Leaky Cauldron open for them. "He always like this?" Xander whispered as Remus walked past him.

"Afraid so," Remus smirked as Xander shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together to suppress his laughter.

Xander shut the door before the three of them weaved their way through the crowd looking for the Weasley's.

"There they are." Sirius pointed to a pair of bobbing red heads.

The moved quickly, ignoring the pointing fingers and hushed whispers of the other patrons. Xander smiled slightly as Molly shooed her two sons to the other end of the table and patted the place besides a green haired witch, who promptly blushed at the snickering coming from Fred, George and Sirius.

"Come on, sit, sit. Tom will be out with out lunch shortly." She waved at the vacant seats and Remus and Sirius, promptly sat down on either side of Isabella. Taking a sip from a cup of tea, she looked at Xander, "Did they take you to get your wand dear?" Her eyes sliding warily to Sirius.

"Sure did," Xander waved the wrapped package in the air before setting it down on the table in front of him. "I also got a little bit of money changed over… I didn't have time to pack a lot of stuff last night before we left Sunnydale, so is there a Wal-Mart or Target around here?" He felt his heart constrict at the looks on everyone's faces. "Uhm…" he looked to Sirius and Remus for help, but from their expressions, neither knew what he was talking about.

"I can take him Molly." The green-haired Witch spoke up, a pink tinge colouring her cheeks.

"Are you sure Tonks?" Molly fiddled with her teacup, her eyes filling with worry.

"Positive. Dad used to take me into London all the time," she smiled brightly as Molly nodded, albeit, hesitatingly.

"Only if you're sure dear, I don't see the harm in you taking Alex here to muggle London for an hour or two before we have to go to Kings Cross."

Xander turned in his chair and blinked owlishly at the young witch beside him, opening his mouth to say something, but snapping it closed at the last moment.

"Ah! Tom," Arthur broke the short silence that had settled over the table. "Just in time, I'm ravenous."

Xander looked up at the toothless and hairless waiter that bought their lunch over. He smiled nervously as a plate of sandwiches was placed on the table. When Tom left, he turned to his lunch, listening as the conversation moved slowly onto topics such as Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry and the other children, and Dumbledore's "top secret" conversation with Arthur last night once he'd returned to London.

As lunch came to an end, Xander and Tonks, along with George and Fred excused themselves and stepped out into the sunshine of Muggle London with a strict warning from Molly to be careful - "Alexander hasn't been to London before" -, behave - "If I see any mention of trouble in London today, you two will never see the inside of that joke shop again." - and to meet them at Kings Cross station at promptly three o'clock.

Sirius smiled fondly as Molly dabbed her eyes with her napkin. "They'll be alright Molly, Fred and George will look after Xander."

"Oh, that's not it, I just… he really does look like James doesn't he? An older version of Harry, but with James' brown eyes."

Remus reached over and patted the older woman on the hand. "He does, very much so. I'm rather sad that we've missed a lot of his growing up. He was like a younger brother, not just to James, but to Sirius and me as well."

Arthur looked up from his cup of tea, "I wonder what he'll be like when he starts at Hogwarts, he seems to be closer to Percy's age then I would have thought."

"He is," Isabella spoke up, "I'm more then a little annoyed that Uncle Albus kept it from Harry all this while… you should have seen Rupert last night, he was in a right state when he was told that the boy would be given the choice to come here." She shook her head, "Then he yelled at Rupert and it was all a lot more then I'd have imagined."

The brunette witch perked up a little bit, "But here, did you see the way Tonks was looking at him Molly?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"I think everyone out in Diagon Alley saw the way she was looking at him Izzy." Sirius smirked, "The word 'Gob-smacked' doesn't really seem to do it justice."

"The twins were teasing her about it when you boys walked in," Molly giggled. "Not to mention the way he was staring at her at breakfast this morning. Like a wizard looking at a glass full of Gillywater after a week in the desert."

The small group chuckled softly, but it was Remus who spoke next, "He asked about her before we went into Ollivander's. Wanted to know where she'd gotten to." He smirked when Molly opened her mouth to speak. "We didn't explain to him that Tonks was a metamorphmagus, decided it would be far more fun if he found out for himself."

"It would be a nice match," Molly looked over and smiled at Sirius, "The Blacks and The Potters, coming together, finally one whole family."

Sirius gave a short nod, "I'm not entirely sure Andromeda would see it that way however, she's rather protective of her only child."

They sat and drank, discussing the sudden attraction between Tonks and Xander until Molly announced that it was time for them to leave. Gathering their packages, the small group left the wizarding pub and made for Kings Cross station.

Xander had had an eye-opening afternoon, he'd watched on in fascination several times as Tonks changed her hair colour, after explaining of course that she was what was known in the wizarding world as a metamorphmagus – able to change her appearance at will. Fred and George had decidedly shown Xander what they considered to be the best spots in London, a muggle club that he was sworn to secrecy in case Molly found out.

They had also explained to him the code of secrecy the entire wizarding world lived by, the twins and Tonks both equally amazed at how he seemed to take it in his stride. Tonks had taken them to a department store, and Xander had to keep Fred and George in line several times as they gaped in awe at the many lingerie boutiques they had passed. It had been a fun afternoon, he surmised as they made their way to Kings Cross station. Although, for some unknown reason, after they had finished shopping for Xander's clothes, Tonks walked several paces a head, stopping every now and then to shoot the twins murderous looks.

They walked along, talking about all manner of things, Fred and George talked to Xander about Quidditch, in exchange for information on the Slayer and what it had been like to live on top of The Hellmouth. In more time then he would have liked, Xander had described to all three of them his induction into the Scooby Gang, his friendship with Willow and Jesse, the death of many of his friends, his relationship with Cordelia, having to spend time with The Scourge of Europe, to which Fred, George and Tonks, who had at some point joined them once again, all agreed he was a dangerous vampire to be around, soul or not.

Finally, they came to a stop just outside of the station and were greeted by the other, of which Molly almost rounded on her sons, imploring Tonks and Xander to tell her whether or not they'd behaved.

Finally, after Molly was satisfied that the twins had indeed behaved, although Tonks' admission had been given somewhat begrudgingly, Sirius turned to Xander and clapped him on the shoulder, making him jump.

"Well Xander, are you ready to meet your nephew?"

Xander took a deep shuddering breath, trying to mentally prepare himself for his first meeting with Harry. Only when he felt eight pairs of eyes all trained on him, did he look at Sirius. "As ready as I'm ever going to be," he nodded and felt a warm hand clasp his and give a firm squeeze. He turned and looked down at Molly.

"Don't worry dear, it will be alright."

Xander nodded, unable to quell the wave of adoration for the small woman beside him. She'd known him for less then twenty-four hours, and had already taken him under her wing and into her home.

"Right, well, you all go and wait by platform nine and three quarters, I'm afraid I've got something to take care of for Dumbledore." Arthur smiled and patted Molly reassuringly on the cheek. "Don't you worry dear, nothing dangerous, just a pick up." He turned to Xander, "Good luck Alexander, I'll see you a little later." Nodding to everyone in turned, he moved closer to the group before disappearing with a crack, though the noise coming from the station and surrounding traffic meant it had gone unheard.

Xander, with Remus' hand on his shoulder and Molly Weasley's right hand tucked in his left, made his way up the stairs and into the station, his heart slamming against his rib cage as they approached the brick wall between platforms nine and ten. Giles and Sirius had explained the barrier between Muggle Kings Cross station and Wizarding Kings Cross station, and Xander glanced around, sighing in relief that no one was paying the odd group the slightest bit of attention. He wiped his hand on his trouser leg in an attempt to get rid of the sweat that had suddenly accumulated.

"Should be pulling in -"

"Just about now," Fred and George whispered, looking around to make sure no muggles were paying attention to the barrier.

"Just remember, he's as new to this as you are." Sirius had leaned over, talking softly. Xander glanced back and nodded, noticing how he had one arm slung across Isabella's shoulders and one hand planted firmly against the small of Remus' back.

"Got it," he smiled nervously as Isabella gave him a comforting pat on the arm.

"You'll be right Xander, if Harry's anything like his dad, you two will get on like a house on fire." She beamed brightly, just as Molly gave a heart felt sob and dropped Xander's hand.

"That'll be them." Tonks called out, her eyes lighting up and her face breaking into a wide grin.

Xander watched as two young girls stepped through the barrier, one with flaming red hair, who was no doubt related to the Weasley's and another with a wild tangle of deep, chestnut curls. Both crying out as they dropped their trunks and flung themselves into Misses Weasley's arms,   
Xander watched as the one with the wild curls pulled back, her cheeks stained with tears and nod in response to something Misses Weasley asked her. It took only moments before the young girl's eyes had surveyed the crowd watching her, her eyes widening as they settled on something just past Xander's right shoulder. A quick turn of his head and he realized she was staring at Sirius. He turned back just in time to get out of the way as red and brown blurs rushed past him and launched themselves at Sirius, the air was rife with sobs and Xander felt the urge to look away, not wanting to intrude on such an emotional moment.

He turned his attention back to Molly, who was holding on for dear life to two boys almost twice her size. When she pulled away, he noticed that her eyes were red and swollen with unshed tears… he also noticed the darker haired boy. Xander felt something stab at his chest as he took in the doleful appearance of what must be his nephew. He was thin, thinner then Xander had ever seen another male, and his dark hair was in desperate need of a trim.

He stepped aside as the boy moved closer, trying to edge towards the back of the group, there was something in his eyes that reminded Xander vaguely of the time he'd seen Angelus with Willow in the halls of Sunnydale High. The group almost as one, collective being took a deep breath as he approached Sirius. And later no one would be able to recall with one hundred per cent certainty what had happened in those few precious moments when Harry's fist connected with Sirius' jaw before he flung his arms around the older man and sobbed into his faded black jacket.

It was at least fifteen minutes before the two could be pulled a part, both muttering to each other about how irresponsible Sirius had been, and how Harry really would kill him if he ever did such a stunt like that, the group choosing to look everywhere but at the Godfather and Godson. Finally, when Ron had managed to shove Harry away and give Sirius a manly clap on the back, the group, once more as a collective being, released its breath. Fred and George had at some point, secured trolleys for the baggage and were currently trying to pile trunks and school bags and cages onto one Xander noticed offhandedly, before he was being prodded in the back by a smiling, if somewhat teary, Remus Lupin. He looked up and came face to face with a pair of bright green eyes, hidden behind spectacles.

"Harry, I'd like to introduce you to your Uncle Alexander. Xander, this is Harry." Remus clapped the young boy on the shoulder.

"Surprise!" Sirius exclaimed, a little too cheerfully.


	6. Honesty

Xander's hand came up and rubbed the back of his neck once again. "Uh, hey."

"Hello."

The two stared at each other, not really knowing what to say.

"Since when was Harry a yank?" A voice hissed from behind Xander.

"Honestly Ronald, did you not hear a word Harry was saying on the train." Xander glanced over his shoulder and noticed the red haired boy scowling and the bushy haired girl rolling her eyes.

"Uh," Xander looked back to Harry, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry, it's just… I've never had an uncle before… well, I have, but Uncle Vernon, he…" Harry trailed off, not entirely sure how to explain his Uncle Vernon.

"That's cool," Xander nodded, "I've never had a nephew before, so that makes us even."

Harry gave Xander a small smile before turning to face Molly. "I saw Mr. Weasley just before we came through the barrier; he said he'll meet us all at home."

Molly nodded, "Very well." She gave Ginny one last hug before setting her free, "Why don't we continue this conversation back at home then?" She nodded at Sirius who gave Harry one last pat on the shoulder.

"Right, Fred, George, mind you don't forget Pig," he turned his head and watched as the twins passed Ron, Harry and Hermione their animal cages, eyeing the rest of the luggage. "Everyone wait here a moment, Fred, George, Remus… come with me." They disappeared with the luggage trolleys around a corner, before returning. "Right then… Let's go." He motioned for everyone to follow him.

"Uh, Sirius?" Xander fell into step beside the older man. "What about the bags and…"

Sirius chuckled, "Remus has Hermione's luggage – I don't think she would trust anyone but him to handle her books, I have Harry's and Fred and George have Ron and Ginny's." He patted his pocket. "Simple shrinking charm, that way we're not lugging four trunks and all other sorts of rubbish back to the house."

"My books are not rubbish thank you very much," came a haughty voice from behind them. "They are a far sight better then those brooms the boys have."

Sirius and Xander turned to look at Hermione. "Xander, Hermione, Hermione, Xander." Xander gave the young girl a short nod. "Hermione's the cleverest witch of her year."

"Cool. Willow's kinda like that; she got accepted to practically every college across the globe." Xander felt his heart swell with pride for his friend. "She actually got accepted to Oxford, here in England. But, she wanted to stay in Sunnydale, help save the world."

Sirius smiled, "You must miss her terribly."

"I do, but, in a way… I'm glad I'm here. I want a chance to get to know what life could have been like if I hadn't of ended up living in America, and you and Harry and everyone else."

Tonks had fallen into step beside them, "Who're we missing?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Xander's friend Willow," Sirius looked up ahead to where Remus and Isabella were talking quietly, "If she decides to come out here, I think she might give our Hermione a run for her money."

"Oh, she's the one you were talking about earlier, the witch." She looked up at Xander, her bright blue eyes pinning him in place.

"That's her; she's been my best friend since we were five."

"Oh." Tonks' gaze dropped to the ground and Sirius had to turn away to hide his smirk.   
The rest of the walk back to Grimmauld Place was quiet, save for the murmurings about someone Ron and Harry kept referring to as Umbridge and scathing remarks about a ferret. Xander raised his eyebrows however when Hermione chastised them lightly over the ferret remarks before resuming her conversation with Ginny about someone called Snape. They reached Grimmauld Place without incident, and Xander breathed a soft sigh of relief, during their walk, more talk about someone's ferret named Malfoy had sparked an argument between the girls and the boys, Harry had looked to Remus and Sirius for confirmation about something and the girls had turned to Tonks. All of which refused to stay out of the conversation.

"Right now, everyone remember to be quiet when we go inside," Mrs Weasley looked pointedly at Tonks whose cheeks turned as pink as her hair now was.

Sirius stepped up and tapped on the door in a quick succession of raps with the tip of his wand, smiling as the door swung open to admit them. Xander watched as he stepped aside and allowed Molly, Isabella and the other girls in before following. As they all filed into the narrow hallway, Molly mutely pointed Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny up the stairs before turning and heading towards the kitchen. Xander had to bite the inside of his cheek as Ron pulled a face behind his mother's back and held his hand out to George… or Fred… Xander couldn't be quite sure which twin was which.

"Why don't you head on to the kitchen Xander, we'll follow in a moment." Sirius smiled and gave Xander a gentle shove towards the kitchen. Nodding his response, Xander moved silently, Tonks and Isabella following hot on his heels.

Remus waited until the women, Xander and the twins were well out of earshot before turning and smiling warily at Sirius, "You need to go upstairs and talk with your Godson and his friends. That punch was the least of his anger towards you, the frustration and distress is rolling off of him in waves. And he kept shooting daggers at your back on the walk home."

Sirius nodded, "I know, in all honesty, I was fully expecting him to hex me seven ways from Sunday the moment he saw me."

"He more then likely would have if it weren't for the statute of underage wizardry."

"Will you come up with me?" Sirius' blue eyes held the look of a condemned man.

"Of course, one of us needs to be even tempered." Remus flashed his dearest friend a small smile. "I love you Sirius, but if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll kill you."

Sirius smiled warmly before pulling the werewolf into a tight hug. "As I love you, now… Help me go explain to Harry how sorry I am."

Remus tugged on a lock of dark hair, "Not just Harry, but Ginny, Hermione and Ron as well."

 

With a quick nod, Sirius led the way upstairs and into the section of the house that had been cleaned and claimed by the… not children, he reminded himself, they were all far too old to be called that anymore, had seen and done far too much to be called children; even if the law saw differently… by their charges. As they came to the pair of doors, he raised his fist, "You may want to get the girls."

Remus nodded and knocked on the door opposite the room Harry and Ron were occupying. "Hermione? Ginny?" He called softly, and Sirius noticed, not for the first time, just how tired his companion was. Twelve years away from Isabella and himself had not been kind to Remus, and as the door opened to reveal the two young women, he noticed just how much silver had thread it's way through the normally golden brown hair of his friend.

"Harry, Ron, we're coming in." Sirius held open the door and allowed the other three in ahead of him.

"Here, Sirius, you reckon Harry'd be able to leave his stuff here while he goes back to the Dursley's?" Ron asked, his head buried in his trunk, looking for something.

"Actually…" Sirius trailed off at the glare he received from Remus. "Uh, sure; why not, I don't see any harm done."

"See mate? Now all you'll have to take to the Dursley's is some clothes and you're wand and Hedwig." Ron grinned brightly as he pulled out a bag of chocolate frogs. "Harry?" He turned when he got no response, gulping at the look on Harry's face.

"I thought you were dead… we **_all_** thought you were dead." Harry's voice held a quite fury, one that Remus and Sirius hadn't heard since Lily Potter had rounded on them both for getting her husband pie-eyed the night Harry had been born.

"About that…" Sirius began, clasping his hands together behind his back.

"Dumbledore told me you were dead. Remus told me you were dead. Do you have any idea what I've gone through in the last thirty-two hours?"

"Harry, listen for a moment, let me explain…"

"NO! I had to listen while Dumbledore 'explained' to me that the closest thing I've got to a father died right in front of me and one of my best mates!"

"I messed up, Harry I'm -"

"You're a bastard, you know that?" Harry's green eyes flashed with anger.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ginny both cried out at the same time.

"No, Harry's right." Remus spoke softly. "What Sirius did was nigh on unforgivable. We all thought he was dead."

Sirius shot Remus a look that clearly said he wasn't helping matters. "Would you listen for five minutes? All of you?" Sirius' blue eyes locked on Harry. "I needed to catch my breath Harry. I figured, if I ducked behind the veil long enough, someone would distract Bellatrix and I could see if you were alright. I didn't know I was going to lose my grip and end up half way 'round the bloody world."

"Dumbledore said that when the veil was first created, they put all manner of things in there, just to see what would happen."

"And they did, but what he didn't tell you, was that the veil is a link between something called The Watcher's Council and the active Vampire Slayer."

Harry barely suppressed a snort of defiance. "Sure."

"He's telling the truth Harry." Remus moved across the room to lay a warm hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Do you have any idea how terrified I was when Snape got through on the floo to tell us that you'd disappeared?" Sirius leant against the door frame. "I tried calling you on the mirror, hoping the old git was just having us for a laugh, but you didn't answer. The moment you didn't respond to that, Remus, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Moody and myself all apparated to the ministry. Do you have any idea how terrified I was that we were too late?"

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all had the good grace to look thoroughly ashamed of their actions, Harry, however didn't even seem to register any sign of guilt or remorse; just stood there, arms folded across his chest, looking every bit his stubborn father.

"I thought you were being tortured, so sorry for caring." Sirius had hated that voice even when Lily used it.

"It's not that you cared Harry, it's that you were bloody well being led into a trap! And if you'd have continued your Occlumency lessons with Snape, you'd have understood that! Instead, you let your emotions and his get in the way of things!" Sirius shook his head. "Granted, you lot gave a good fight, but Bellatrix got away and Voldemort was able to hurt you. Something we've been trying all year to keep from happening."

"Sirius…"

"No Professor Lupin, Sirius is right." Ginny Weasley looked at Harry; her face resembling her mother's far too much. "My dad nearly died trying to save you from getting hurt by Voldemort this year Harry and you've had us all on tenterhooks, just waiting for something to happen. Hermione, Ron and I all told you to keep up your Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape and you lied to us, and well… We all could have been seriously hurt! You should be bloody well grateful that Sirius is still alive! I understand you're angry because Dumbledore did tell you he was dead, but still, the veil was more then likely supposed to remain a secret, and instead, the whole lot of us just stumble on in there and make a right mess of things." Her voice softened, "Be grateful he's still alive Harry, Merlin knows I am. You need all the family you can get."

Harry shot Ginny a murderous glare, "If it weren't for me quitting those Occlumency lessons, your dad *would* be dead."

Hermione gasped, Ron went deathly pale and Remus and Sirius froze in their tracks; the only sound, a loud crack, where Ginny slapped Harry across the face.

"How dare you…" She trailed off, two spots of red colouring her pale cheeks.

"Right, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Remus… Out," Sirius moved from the door, "Go on, before anyone else says something they're going to regret."

Remus arched an eyebrow at Sirius, "I'd like to talk to my Godson alone for a moment. You lot go on downstairs and see if Molly can't use your help with something."

Nodding, Remus ushered the others out of the room and down to the kitchen, making sure to shut the door behind them.

Taking a deep breath, Sirius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; mentally cursing James and Lily for not being here to do this, doubling cursing Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew for being the cause of their not being here. "That was out of line Harry, and you know it."

"Was it?" Harry spat out, "Because to me, being honest is never out of line."

"It was and you ruddy well know it Harry James Potter!" Sirius' voice rose in volume, "You had no right to say that to Ginny and Ron! They could have lost their father, and while I understand that you are angry with both Dumbledore and me, you have no right to take that anger out on your friends."

"No! I don't think you do understand Sirius, you're the closest thing to family that I have and you just left!" Harry's hands clenched by his side and he could feel the familiar sting in the corners of his eyes, threatening tears. "I thought you were dead! How could you even… You're supposed to be there for me! And all I knew was that you weren't coming back!" The first tear fell as he launched himself at Sirius, fists flying every which way. "I hated the idea of coming back here, thinking you were dead! I hated them! They all had families to come home to, I have the Dursley's!"

Sirius did his best to stand firm as Harry landed several punches to his chest and stomach before he wrapped his arms around the boy, holding him tightly as he cried out his frustration. "Shh, it's alright lad." Sirius held his Godson tightly, patting him on the back. "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't think I'd end up on another continent, I thought Remus or Albus would surely reach in and tell me to stop fart-arsing about."

Harry hiccupped and tightened his grip on Sirius' shirt. "I thought you were dead. Professor Dumbledore told me about the veil and those things they put in there more often then not, died."

"I know, I know." Sirius felt like a complete and utter prat. "But, if you had listened to me before going off the way you did, you'd have learned that the archway is the link between -"

"The Watcher's Council and the Vampire Slayer, you've told me already."

"You'd have also learnt that the Slayer is always stationed above the active Hellmouth." Sirius led Harry over to the bed, sitting him down gently. "For years, the Vampire Slayer has been stationed on the active Hellmouth to keep things like vampires and demons far worse then even Dementors from taking over. But, apparently, this latest Slayer was… misplaced." Sirius smiled as he relayed what he knew of the Slayer and of Buffy and Giles and Xander to Harry.

"So, you're telling me that, not only do I have an uncle, but I've got a second cousin that I never knew about, and he's Watcher to the Vampire Slayer… Buffy?" Harry quirked an eyebrow at Sirius who nodded, "Well, I guess stranger things have happened, like a best friend who's pet rat wasn't really a rat but the accomplice to the murderer of my parents."

Sirius laughed, his arm tightening around Harry's shoulders. "Very true," he sighed and stood up, "Now, I believe you have apologies to make and an uncle to get acquainted with. Although, don't tell Remus, but… leave off on the packing for a while, eh?" He beamed when Harry nodded. "Right then, down we go."

"Sirius?" Harry stopped in the doorway, looking up at the man he'd come to love as much as he would his own father. "I'm glad you're alive, but… don't ever do anything like that ever again."

"Marauder's oath," Sirius pressed his hand against his chest, "so long as you resume your lessons with Snape and promise not to go looking for trouble."

Silently they made their way down to the kitchen so as not to awaken the sleeping Mrs. Black; Sirius couldn't help but glare at the portrait's covering as they went past, he wanted that thing gone, and more then he could possibly put into words. Along with Kreacher, the image of his mother was like a heavy black shroud that hung over the house. Silently, he wondered what it would take to keep get rid of the old hag and her lackey once and for all but to keep the rest of the house in tact. As they approached the kitchen, his sensitive ears picked up on the soft sniffles of one Ginevra Weasley and murmured musings of the rest of the Weasley clan, Remus, Hermione and Isabella. He stifled a bark of laughter as Isabella staunchly defended Harry's behaviour, only to be shot down by Ginny.

"Of course it was rash!" Came the soft, yet defiant voice, "But Harry showed a real lack of responsibility in **_believing_** that stupid Vision. We all made some terrible judgment calls in the last couple of days, but to speak like that to Sirius when there was no need…" She trailed off and Sirius watched her from the doorway sneak a glance at her mother, "He's more then likely had it from all sides already. You, Professor Lupin, Mum… he doesn't need it from Harry and the rest of us."

Hermione nodded, "And then to say what he said about… well…" She eyed Molly cautiously, "That went beyond crossing a line and we all know it."

From the amused look Remus sent in his direction, Sirius knew that this conversation had been hurtling around the kitchen since he'd sent them out of the room. Clearing his throat, he nudged Harry, who had the grace to look utterly and completely ashamed at his outburst, forward.

"G-Ginny, I'm sorry. What I said… I didn't… I never meant to… I love your mum and dad as if they were my own, you know that."

Ginny turned, her green eyes flashing as she glared at Harry, "And you very well should be," she folded her arms over her chest. "It's one thing to be upset, and another entirely to be so… so… furious… over something so small." She shot a glare over her shoulder at Isabella and Remus who both snorted, silencing them both with that single look that reminded them far, far too much of Molly. "Sirius is alive, be grateful! What Dumbledore said could have been true."

Harry looked down at his feet, shuffling closer to Ginny. "I am sorry Ginny, truly." He looked up at her then, his eyes flashing brightly as if seeing her… really seeing her, for the first time.

"Yes, well, perhaps now you'll understand the importance of hard work and study." Hermione spoke up from her place beside Tonks.

Xander watched the interaction between the small group of friends and fought to keep himself from smiling. They reminded him of Sunnydale, of the days before the library went 'ka-boom', of the time before Buffy ran away and he and Willow hurt Oz and Cordelia beyond the telling of it. Before Faith showed up and turned them all on their heads. Hermione was definitely the 'Willow' of their group.

Ginny smiled slightly, and rolled her eyes, "Hermione's right, maybe now, after such a scare as this, you'll think twice before getting us almost killed… and we'll think twice about agreeing to go along with you." She reached out and gave Harry the briefest of hugs, and Xander noted as they pulled apart, their faces were red with embarrassment and Ron and Hermione shared a look that clearly said 'About bloody time.'

"Well, now that that's all cleared up," Molly came bustling over, stopping only slightly to fuss with her apron. "I'll make us all a pot of tea and you can get to know Alexander a little better Harry."

Harry nodded and sat in the chair between Sirius and Remus. "I'm… sorry… I mean, Hello."

"Hey," Xander nodded his head. "I guess this is the part where we explain to you what's going on?" He quirked an eyebrow and reached for the bag of chocolate frogs.

"Ooh," Hermione began, "Can we listen too or is this for Harry's ears only?"

Xander smiled up at the way her eyes lit up at the prospect of something new. "I've got no problem with you listening in, I mean, well, Fred and George and N… Tonks… already know. So it only seems fair." She was definitely the 'Willow' and if by the way Ron was shovelling chocolate frogs into his mouth was any indication; he was their 'Xander'. Settling back in his chair, he relived the tale, with copious amounts of help from Sirius, Remus and Isabella, and comments intermittently thrown in by the twins.

When they'd finished regaling the small group with their story, Xander noticed that Harry looked only slightly put-out, Ron looked positively awed and Hermione looked positively mortified when Sirius threw in the fact that Xander had helped blow up his High School. Only those who'd been present to listen to the story twice before remained aloof and unaffected,   
"And now," Xander continued, "I get to experience some of the things I've missed out on during the last eight or nine years."

"Do you have a wand?" Ginny asked; her eyes shining at the thought of adventure.

"Yep," Xander pointed to the box he'd set on the sideboard earlier. "Got it earlier; eleven inches, oak with a phoenix feather core or something like that," he got up and retrieved the parcel, lifting the lid on the box and holding it up.

"Have you ever done magic before?" Ginny asked, watching intently as he rolled the slim piece of oak between his fingers.

"A bit," Xander shrugged, "There was that one time, last year when we were trying to help Willow restore Angel's soul, but we were attacked at the last minute. I was more of an herbs and candle lighting guy. And then, a few months ago, Oz and I were trying to do some spell for Giles and Buffy and we got interrupted again."

Finally, drawn back into the conversation; Ron looked up at Xander, "So, what exactly is a Slayer?"

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms, "Honestly Ron, if you ever bothered to pay attention in Professor Binns' class, you'd already know the answer to that question." She rolled her eyes, "The Vampire Slayer is the one girl in the entire world, born and bred to hunt and kill demons, to stop the spread of their evil. She alone will stand against the forces of the dark, when she dies another is called in her stead." She levelled the red-haired boy with a stony glare that would have put Giles' hairy eyeball to shame, Xander thought to himself. "If you weren't fantasizing about fighting off hordes of demons, girls with super-hero powers and blowing up an entire school, you'd have figured that out by now."

Xander bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling; the girl definitely had the Watcher-Speak down pat and would have done Giles proud had he been there.

Ron withered for a moment and then bristled, "I got that part Hermione. I just meant, what is she, Muggle or Witch?"

"She's a Muggle," Remus smiled softly at Xander's look of gratitude, "When it was first established, the Watcher's council… experimented with using Witches as the Slayer, but the promise of more power, magic ruined them." He sighed, "In the end, they chose a Muggle girl, Sinyea if I'm correct, though do not quote me on that, I had enough trouble remembering my History of Magic notes for my O.W.Ls, and assigned her a Wizard to watch over her, train her, to be her guide."

"Oh," Ron nodded thoughtfully.

"Did you ever think about becoming a Watcher, Professor Lupin?" Hermione smiled, oblivious to the pain her question evoked.

"Remus, I'm afraid was far too busy taking care of the rest of us to think of things like that." Isabella smiled politely.

"Um, I think it's safe to say Quentin Travers would have found Remus unsuitable for that job." Xander spoke up.

"Oh bloody hell," Sirius grumbled, "Hermione use your head, you were the first student since James, Remus and myself attended Hogwarts to figure out what Professor Lupin was on their own, granted you'd had gentle prodding from Snape," Xander heard the barely uttered 'Greasy Git' before Sirius continued, "In all that Xander's just told you, you've learnt that a Slayer is bound by duty to slay dark creatures and demons such as Vampires and Werewolves."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Oh I'm sorry!" Her face flushed a deep shade of pink, "Professor I didn't mean…"

"It's alright Hermione, but yes, that's exactly why I couldn't join the Academy. No matter how much I wished I could." Remus leant across the table and patted her hand in reassurance.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it though," Xander supplied, "the Council are a bunch of idiots." He looked up and shrugged, "About six months ago, maybe a little longer, they sacked Giles."

With the exception of Sirius, the room issued forth one collective gasp and Xander was trying to answer everyone's questions at once.

"Why?"

"What happened?"

"I thought I read something about that in the Prophet."

"Why didn't he come back to England?" The last one was Harry and Xander felt about six inches tall when he realized that would be the hardest one to answer.

"When Buffy turned eighteen, the Council forced Giles to put her through some kinda test."

"The Cruicamentum," Remus nodded sadly. "One of the most barbaric tests a Slayer; anyone really, can be put through."

Xander nodded, "He gave her these shots and they kinda sapped her strength. Anyway, on her birthday, Travers and a couple of his men locked Buffy in a boarded up house with a deranged vampire, who'd broken out anyway and killed the two Watchers on duty, kidnapped her mom and expected her to pretty much die. Not that it would have mattered anyway. Faith was pretty much out and out evil by then, even if we didn't know it. And a new Slayer would only have been called if Faith died." He looked up at the faces around him and blushed, each one listening intently so as not to miss a single thing.

"Anyway, Buffy was scared that she was losing her powers and told Giles and one night while she was on patrol, she almost ended up on the wrong end of her stake and Giles told her the truth. In the end, Buffy survived and Quentin was both proud and put out, I'm not sure, and Giles was fired for not being impartial." He shrugged, "I think Buffy said something about Quentin saying he loved her like a daughter and wasn't fit to be her watcher." He missed the sceptical looks shared between Remus and Isabella. "As for why he didn't come home, I'm not really sure; you'll have to ask him that. But I do know, the Council so far, hasn't done anything about Faith, when they sent the new Watcher, Wesley to Sunnydale he was a complete and utter moron. He almost got all of us killed, and well, Faith's now in a coma at Sunnydale General and he was fired too when Buffy quit."

The group sat in silence for a while, mulling over all this new information. Hermione looked very distressed, Xander noted but set it aside as though she'd just been told something unsavoury. It wasn't until Molly spoke up some minutes later, that everyone began to realise how time had gotten on.

"Hermione dear, what time did you tell your parents you'd be getting home?"

"Oh," Hermione looked at her watch, "Oh! I almost forgot, they're supposed to be coming to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in half an hour." She stood up and straightened her cardigan. "Sirius, is it alright if I leave my books and school robes here, as well as Crookshanks? I'll be coming back in two weeks and it would save an awful lot of packing."

"Of course," Sirius smiled, "Remus and I will walk you to the Leaky Cauldron. Isabella?"

"I must be getting on, Uncle Albus wanted me to go and grab some books from the cottage; I'll be back in a couple of days, perhaps even tomorrow if I find them all." She stood up, "It was a pleasure to finally meet you Xander, to meet all of you." She smiled at the faces peering at her around the table. "Molly, I'll send word if I'm going to be delayed."

"Very well dear; Ron, Ginny, you two," she nodded to the twins, "go and grab your school things, we have to head back to the Burrow."

"Right, well, we'll be off too then." Sirius stood up, grabbing Remus by the collar of his shirt. "C'mon Hermione, wouldn't want your parents to worry."

"It was lovely meeting you," Hermione stood in front of Xander, "When I get back, maybe you could tell me more about your friend Willow, she seems rather interesting." She smiled and held her hand out to Xander, shaking it before turning to give Ron, Harry and Ginny hugs. "You two behave yourselves. Merlin knows you don't need to be in anymore trouble."

"Have a safe journey dear," Molly pulled the young witch into a tight hug before stepping back, "Tell your parents we'll be sending Bill and Charlie along to collect you at the end of two weeks."

"Yes Mrs. Weasley." Hermione waved a final good bye before dashing as quietly as she could back upstairs to grab her backpack.

"We'll see you when we get back Xander, won't be too long. You too Harry," Remus smiled, "We can take you to your Aunt and Uncle's tomorrow." Turning, he made his way to the front hall.

"Do it while we're out," Sirius hissed to Molly who nodded.

"I'll stay and help," Tonks smiled, waving at her cousin.

Isabella gave Molly a knowing wink before following the others out into the hall. A muttered conversation, a soft 'crack' and the shutting and warding of the front door floated in from the hallway and Molly Weasley gave a sigh of relief.

"Alright, you two," she nodded pointed to Fred and George, "Go up to the library, Sirius has marked a book, get it and bring it back here. Ron, up in Buckbeak's room there should be a red envelope in amongst Sirius' old robes, find it and bring it down to me as quick as you can. Ginny, Tonks, in my room there is are two sets of robes, white ones, please go and bring them down here and do be careful."

Xander watched in awe as they scattered to parts of the house as yet unknown to him; the twins had filled him in last night, explaining what Sirius and their mother had planned. Harry however, had 'CONFUSION' written across his face in big, bold letters.

"Uh, Mrs. Weasley…" he looked to the woman who had become a second mother to him in the absence of his own.

"It's alright Harry dear; you just sit there and wait for the girls to come back." She smiled quickly, opening cupboards and drawers.

"I was just going to ask what happened to Kreacher." He looked to Xander who shrugged.

"Oh, he's dead dear. Died yesterday afternoon when he failed to comply with Sirius' orders. He left a frightful mess in the cupboard under the sink. Seems that, when a House elf doesn't follow orders and fails to be punished, he just… implodes," she smiled as Fred and George came back into the kitchen, waving the book about. "Good, good. Now I need you two boys to go and stand in front of Madam Black's portrait. Ahh, very good girls," Molly took one of the white robes from Ginny, "Harry, I need you to go upstairs and slip this on. Now's not the time for questions dear, Remus will return shortly."

"Mum, there were two envelopes, both of them red." Ron stood in the door way, waving them in the air. "Also, I think someone's going to have to go upstairs and spend some time with Buckbeak, bloody thing nearly took my head off."

"Thank you Ron, and yes, he does seem a little restless. But unlike Sirius who has now been cleared of all charges, Buckbeak is still a fugitive." She took the envelopes from him, opening the first one, and then discarding it. Looking up, she eyed the young wizard still standing in the kitchen. "Well? Go on Harry dear, go up and change into that." She ushered him out of the kitchen. "Ginny, Ron, you go with him please and *don't* argue, you'll find out what's going on soon enough." The youngest Weasleys rolled their eyes but turned and followed Harry back up to his and Ron's room.

"I'm going to need my wand for this aren't I?" Xander asked, looking up from his place at the table.

"Yes dear, I'm afraid you are."

"But… I don't know how to use it."

Molly laughed, "Not use a wand? Oh don't be silly, this is one of the rudimentary skills of magic. Just a simple binding that will make this house yours instead of Sirius'. He had Arthur and Albus draw up these papers weeks ago, for Harry, just in case. And this morning we were able to change them." She smiled and slid the paper in front of Xander, "All you need to do dear, is tap your wand at the places marked and say your full name and the house will belong to you."

"But what about Sirius?"

"He's happy to be rid of this place; also, we're hoping that with the changing of the original deeds from the Black name to the Potter name, it'll rid us of some of the more horrible enchantments inside."

Xander shrugged, "Alright," turning his wand over in his hand, he moved to tap his wand to the parchment in front of him. "Are you positive?" He looked up at Molly.   
"Yes, yes. Sirius wouldn't have taken Remus with him if he hadn't been sure."

Nodding, albeit hesitatingly, Xander tapped his wand to the parchment, "Alexander Phillip Potter," he blinked rapidly as a flash of purple flooded the room and seemed to envelope the parchment in a violet haze. He watched with no small amount of surprise as the parchment rolled itself up and a blob of purple wax sealed it closed. On closer inspection, the blob contained the letter 'P' with a phoenix curling around it.

"Congratulations Alexander," Molly beamed and held the scroll out to him. "You're now the proud owner of 12 Grimmauld Place." A loud crash followed by twin oomph's floated down from the hallway. "Oh dear," she cast a quick look up the hallway, "Now, go and slip into that robe and come back to the kitchen please Alexander. "Tonks, the enchantment we're going to need should be marked in that book, please look it up and start getting things ready and for Merlin's sake, be careful." Turning on her heel, she joined the twins in the hallway, casting a silencing charm on the portrait of Madam Black before she could get over the astonishment of being taken down.

Xander walked past just in time to see Molly levitating the portrait into the front parlour and shutting the doors. Ducking upstairs and slipping into his room, he slid out of his jeans and t-shirt and into the white robe, making sure to kick off his shoes and socks. He'd spent enough time over the previous summer with Willow knowing that the less synthetic materials on a person, especially during major rituals, the better the outcome of the spell.

As he went back down stairs, his brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of the twins dancing and singing in front of the place where the portrait had once hung. Gone was the troll-leg umbrella stand, and in it's place a stately looking silver vase. He shook his head at the twins, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he remembered Cordelia and Willow both performing in much the same way when they'd staked their first Vampire without help from either of the boys the summer of Buffy's disappearance.

"Ahh, there you are dear," Molly beamed at him, "Oh good, you've taken off your trainers. Now, this may hurt a moment, but I'm going to need to add a little of your blood to this, Harry, yours too." She smiled over Xander's shoulder as Harry, Ron and Ginny all stepped into the kitchen.

"Just a moment Mrs. Weasley, but could you please explain to me what's going on?" Harry folded his arms over his chest and eyed the older woman suspiciously.

Ron's eyes however, widened, "Mum, you're a bloody genius!" he strode across the kitchen and gave his mum a quick hug. "Harry, with Alex -"

"Xander," Xander told him, his face screwing up at being called Alex.

"Sorry mate, with Xander here, you don't have to return to the Dursley's. Whatever protection you had there, you'll have here. It wasn't just your mum that died trying to save you, but your dad as well. Don't you get it?" He continued when Harry remained perfectly blank, "You don't have to go back to the Dursley's. You can stay here with Sirius and Remus and Buckbeak and Xander!"

Harry's eyes lit up with that and he looked at Molly, "Is he serious?"

"Yes dear, Sirius realized it last night when he got home, we spent a fair bit last night after Remus went upstairs discussing it, and this morning too while Remus was out meeting with Alastor."

Harry stepped up to the bench, palm out. "Well then, let's do this."

Xander smiled, "Nothing like sharing blood to make a true family," he quipped, holding his own hand out.

The two boys shared a smile as Molly pressed the point of a silver athame into the centre of their palms; Xander's left to Harry's right. She watched as the blood welled up and quickly moved Xander's hand over the small cauldron, allowing only a few drops to fall into the already bubbling liquid before she switched his hand for Harry's.

"Right," she continued, "Alexander dear, you'll need to grab your wand again and press your palm to Harry's." She kept her eyes trained on the cauldron as Ginny handed Xander his wand. "Now, tap the pot three times and say after me _'Cruor of meus parentela,'_" she waited until Xander repeated her, smiling encouragingly, "_habito intus eas moenia,_" she gave Harry a quick smile as the smoke of the cauldron turned a faint blue, "_securus de inimicus,_" she grinned at Xander as he tried not to stumble over the words, "_viscus of meus cruor._" A tiny snap and the smoke changed from faint blue to deep violet. "Alright Alexander, now, come with me please." She floated the cauldron in front of her and moved to the front door. "Now, dip the sleeve of your robe into the cauldron and write _Potter Templum - Penetro haud hostilis_ across the lintel." She beamed as Xander did so. "We're almost done dear, and then you can go and wash up for dinner." She motioned for Harry to come forward. "The two of you need to clasp hands again, Alexander, you need to tap your wand on the lintel four times and then you both need to repeat what you said in the kitchen."

"_Cruor of meus parentela, habito intus eas moenia, securus de inimicus, viscus of meus cruor,_" the door glowed purple for a moment before the words Xander had written on the lintel faded with the last of the violet light.

"Welcome home Harry!" Molly threw her arms around the younger boy in a hug before doing the same to Xander. "Welcome home both of you!" The twins, Tonks, Ron and Ginny let out a raucous cheer and began a weird kind of victory dance in the narrow corridor. "Well, go on you two, go shower and change and then come and see Tonks and myself to get your hands patched up."

Xander and Harry dashed upstairs to the sound of Molly telling the others to behave; although they could both clearly tell her heart just wasn't in it. Harry stopped in front of his and Ron's bedroom door, reaching out and grabbing Xander's arm. "I don't have to call you Uncle Xander do I?" He asked, his green eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Nope," Xander smirked, "I know it seems odd, we've only known each other a few hours, and I'm sure you're still pissed off at Sirius for falling through that curtain-y thing. I'm glad he did though, I kinda like being part of a big family, even if it's only just us."

Harry nodded, "Perhaps later, after Remus has calmed down and stopped wanting to hex Sirius into oblivion, the four of us can sit down and talk and you can tell me more about how you grew up in America ."

"Yeah, I'd kinda like that too." Xander smiled and stepped back, "Maybe you can even help me learn some of that wand-waving stuff. From what Fred and George have told me, you and Hermione are the people to go to about that."

"It's a deal." Harry smiled, pushed his glasses up his nose and turned, entering his shared room to grab his clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The translation for all that Latin is, roughly:   
> _"Cruor of meus parentela, habito intus eas moenia, securus de inimicus, viscus of meus cruor,"_
> 
> "Blood of my kin, dwell within these walls, safe from foe, flesh of my blood,"
> 
> _'Potter Templum - Penetro haud hostilis'_
> 
> 'Potter Sanctuary – Enter no enemies'


	7. Prophecy

_She focused intently on slowing down the beating of her heart; it wouldn't do to have the enemy hear her before she could get the jump on them. Her eyes scanned the graveyard slowly, making sure to take in each individual tree and marker. She wrapped her fingers around the familiar length of wood – Mr. Pointy – as Kendra called it, almost another life time ago, when in reality only a year or two beforehand. _

She perched, silent and still as she heard the first rustle of earth and bone. The wind shifted and the dream along with it. The smell of smoke assaulted her nose and stung at her eyes. Someone was burning something… a lot of something's. As still and as silent as she could be, she crouched even lower, turning herself around. Flames licked at her face as the sounds of childish screams filled her ears.

Moving cautiously, she crept closer to the fire – there was no heat, just a tickling sensation as though someone were grazing her cheeks, nose, lips and forehead with a feather duster. The feelings gave credence to the dream and she sighed, straightening up and lifting her chin. As she stalked closer to the pyre, the wind shifted once more and she was staring at a familiar face – her 'sister' Slayer – "Faith?"

"It's now or never B," the younger girl smirked, "He's gotta be a man, no big sister to fight for him, no little girl to come to his defence." She shrugged, "But, you gotta be there, not that you can do much, Tom's pretty much gonna do what he can to get past both of them."

"Friggin' psycho," Buffy muttered, circling the other slayer slowly.

"Willow first… hit him where it hurts. Then Pink, then Giles, then the dog-faced boy," The darker slayer smiled, "And they aren't all going to be human, you know that right?" She stretched and dug a hand into her pocket. "Nothing that dark can be _just_ human."

"Whatever." Buffy turned as the wind changed once more.

"That's why he's gonna need you ya know." Faith stood beside her, a lake spread out below them amongst rolling hills. "He's got the stuff and old Tom's gonna figure that out right from the get go… Soon as word spreads, and believe me, what you pulled with the Mayor is gonna look like pancakes compared to what you'll need to get through this."

"It's nice here," Buffy said, ignoring the twisted mind that was Faith.

"Won't be for long," the younger girl slammed her hand down on Buffy's shoulder and turned her around. "It's gonna be fire and brimstone and sulphur and screaming and pain and hurt." She looked at the older girl. "But you don't care, you can't care. Not when you've gotta be the one to kick it all off."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Buffy shrugged the hand off, "Shouldn't you be in some happy Faith land with naked preachers and alligators?"

"You've gotta be the one to kick it off B, cos, he's not where you think he is. You know that as well as I do. When he left, you couldn't trust him as far as you could throw him, no matter how nice he was, nice as apple pie full of worms. It's why you haven't called, you know he's not there, and you know he's hiding more than just a monster." She smirked and jumped from the wall they were standing on.

Buffy followed, "What are you talking about?" The wind shifted and she was standing back on the street in front of the High School, burnt and gutted and broken. Something dark moved towards her, fast and silent. Her grip tightened on the stake.

"You have to be the one to kick it off Buff." The all too familiar smirk shone in the darkness and her hand lashed out without even thinking.

"Avada Kedavra!" Her voice, but not her voice, bounced off the walls around her as she plunged the stake through Angelus' chest. A scream tore through the night, followed by another, and another and another, and yet still more, until a crescendo of noise overwhelmed her senses…

Crunch, crumple, thunk.

Peeling open one eye, Buffy groaned at her alarm clock, or what was left of it anyway. The plastic was shattered, the blinking numbers no longer blinked and bits and pieces of the wires and chips inside bled from her side table and onto the floor, "Crap."

"Buffy?" Her mother called softly, "is everything alright in there?"

"Yes mom, just another alarm clock casualty," She sat up in bed, trying to wrap her head around the weirdest dream she'd ever had. Including the ones she'd had just after she'd been called to do her Slaying duty.

The door creaked open and Joyce Summers stuck her head inside, "Mr. Giles called, he wanted to let you know he's got a flight booked for tomorrow night, and Willow called and said she'd be by shortly to talk. Are you sure you're alright? You look a little peaked."

"Yeah mom, I'm fine." She smiled up at the older woman and shrugged. "Be down in a minute."

"Well, so long as you're sure…" She trailed off and ducked back out of the room "Pancakes for breakfast." She called out of her shoulder as she headed back down the hall.

"Five by five," Buffy muttered, getting up and stuffing her feet into her giant fluffy slippers.

~*~

"So, he's leaving then?"

"Left… Six o'clock this morning." The redhead reached for another tissue.

"Did he say where?"

Willow shook her head, "No, just that he needed to go and try and find something that would help him tame the wolf… after last month's episode…" She trailed off, a fresh spate of tears forcing their way down her cheeks.

"Shh," Buffy pulled her friend into a hug, running her hands down the other girl's back. "It's alright Willow." She looked over Willow's head and met a pair of green eyes.

"That's why he was so late yesterday, he was saying goodbye to his family, and he's been trying to spend as much time with Jordi as he can."

Giles moved silently from the living room to the kitchen, his heart ached for the young witch in the other room as surely as it ached for the young man who had left in hopes of a cure. A futile search that would end in heart break; there was no cure; they all knew that, save for the Wolfsbane potion which, under the American Wizarding Confederacy laws, was still not available to the population that suffered from Lycanthropy. Tapping the tea kettle with his wand – after last night, the thin piece of oak had felt far too good to be put back in its box in the cupboard – he muttered a heating charm and set about organizing things for tea.

"Did he mention anything about our, ah, visitors, after you left?" He asked, coming back into the living room with a tray.

"No, just that if his travels took him to England, he'd look up Xander." Willow sniffled and straightened up. "I want to hate him for leaving, especially so soon after Xander…" she sighed, "But I can't. Jordi almost killed Samantha last month when she got up to get a drink of water during the night. If his mom hadn't been listening in on the monitor, they'd have lost their daughter… Jordi was so frightened when he woke up the following morning."

"Understandably so," Giles handed her a cup of tea, "Remus almost killed a fellow student once – a childish prank by Sirius. He was distraught for days."

Willow's eyes widened, "Was the student okay?"

"Severus? Yes, though I can't account that his near-slaughter experience left him with an enlightened look on life." Giles smiled, James, Sirius and Remus may not have been friends with the Slytherin, but he had. "I haven't thought about Severus in years. Not since the leaving feast. Though, rumour has it he joined the Death Eaters shortly after I left for the academy." He sighed, if it were true, then the chances of his old Potions partner and friend being alive were slim.

Willow and Buffy breathed identical sighs of relief, both remembering a time when Oz had feared he'd hurt and killed a fellow student.

"Would your friend Remus be able to help him?" Buffy asked, looking up at Giles as she added an extra spoon of sugar to her tea.

"I'm afraid not, there is a potion, but the American Wizarding Confederacy has deemed it illegal. All it really does is suppress the initial urges of the wolf when the change happens. It keeps them from tearing at their own skin."

Buffy nodded before turning back to Willow, "I think you should go to England with Giles."

The abrupt change in conversation made Willow's spine stiffen. "What? Buffy, I can't, remember? I chose to stay here; I want to be a part of that bigger picture. Remember, we discussed this when college offers first came out."

Buffy shook her head, "I want you to go, tomorrow with Giles if you can. Xander's gonna need you, and until Faith either bites the dust or wakes up reformed, I have to stay here and slay. It wouldn't be the first time I fought the bad guys on my own, and when I can get out there, I'll be there before you know it. Until then, I want you to go with Giles, help Xander deal with all these new changes… he's gonna need a familiar face when things get tough." She watched as Willow set her teacup down and looked from Giles to Buffy.

"What about Oz? Not to mention, with Giles gone, who'll do the book work? And what about what happened last night? Buffy, there was a piece of metal pipe sticking out of your stomach! What happens if something like that happens again?" Willow folded her arms across her chest.

"Oz has gone Willow, but if he comes back, or writes, I'll tell him to meet you in England, also, I'm more then capable of doing the book work, do we not remember my S.A.Ts? Giles has already promised to organize some sort of communication thing between us while he's there, and well, as to the last one… I'll either get myself to the hospital or die – and we know how good I am at dying." She teased lightly. "Go home and organize a ticket Willow, start packing. Your parents will be happy that you're getting out of Sunnydale. You were offered a place at Oxford; just tell them you're gonna go check it out. Xander already told me about the money sitting in 'The Fund', waiting for you to accept that place. So just… please, for me, go to England."

Willow looked down at the hands folded in her lap, "Giles?"

"The decision is entirely up to you Willow; I had hoped you'd both join us eventually, but…" He trailed off as Buffy shot him a glare over the Wicca's head. "Why don't you go and discuss it with your parents? I certainly won't mind the company, it's a long flight and I'd rather have you to talk to then someone's grandmother blathering on about their grandchildren." He smiled slightly.

"Buffy?"

The Slayer could see the flicker of hope in Willow's eyes and grinned, "Go, pack!" She threw her arms around the other girl in a hug. "Just make sure you send me a postcard okay? And I promise I'll be there as soon as possible." She pulled back, beaming; "Besides, if I get into trouble, Angel and Cordelia are only a few hours drive away. All I have to do is send up the bat signal and Angel will come up to save the day, you know that."

Willow giggled and stood up, "I'll be back in a couple of hours okay? I just have to talk to my parents and book a seat on the flight and then pack. Do you think I could take my laptop? I mean, it'd be a good way of keeping in touch with you Buffy and oh!" Willow's eyes widened her hand flying up to her mouth, "you can take my spare computer! I'll set it up tonight at your house that way you can keep in touch with Giles, Xander and me and not ring up a huge phone bill."

Buffy nodded in agreement, "That'd be a great idea and I can take it with me when I move on campus." She ignored the look Giles shot in her direction and ushered her friend to the door, "If you're not back by the time I order dinner, I'll make sure to save you some." She wrapped her arms around the redhead once more before watching as Willow bounded out into the late afternoon sunshine. When the door was finally shut, Buffy turned slowly to face Giles, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Do you wish to explain what that was all about?" Giles prodded, settling himself in his chair.

"The sooner you and Willow get out of Sunnydale and to Xander, the better."

"Buffy…" Giles sighed, looking at her with something akin to Willow's 'Resolve Face'.   
Moving back over to the couch, she lay down, resting her head against the arm so she wouldn't have to face Giles. "Faith's dying."

Giles raised an eyebrow, "The doctors are doing their best to keep her from slipping further into her comatose state; she's not out of the woods yet, but I'm sure she'll come around in her own time." He watched her warily as she folded her arms and shook her head.   
"No. She's dying, what the doctors are doing isn't going to stop it. No matter how hard they try. And when she does, a new girl will be sent to Sunnydale with a new Watcher."

"What's happened?" Giles' voice was soft but it left no room for argument or talking in riddles.

"Dream," she stated softly, tilting her head to watch Giles from the corner of her eye. "Xander's in trouble… bigger trouble then the Hellmouth." She let her gaze drift towards the ceiling, recalling the dream she'd had. "Some guy named Tom is gonna hurt Xander; starting with Willow and then someone named 'Pink' – though why she's got anything to do with Xander, I've no clue whatsoever. It's not like he goes around being all chummy with pop stars and right on down the list until there isn't anyone left. And the weirdest thing is, apparently I have to kick it off." She jumped up from the couch and started to pace.

"What do you mean you have to kick it off?" Giles followed her every move.

"Just that, this… war thing that Xander's gone to be part of… I have to kick it off. Faith told me that not all of them are gonna be human, that nothing _that_ dark can be human." She ran her hands through her hair before stopping and looking directly at Giles. "This thing… war… whatever… Xander's not gonna be able to help stop it until I start it."

Giles' eyes widened, his mouth opened as though to say something before clamping shut again. Taking a deep breath, his brow furrowed, "What do you mean 'until I start it'?"

"I have to kill Angel."

Giles froze, his heart skipped a beat and his brain fired off what could only be described as an automatic flare of joy which he suppressed. The creature that had killed his Jenny, tormented him with the body and set out to kill not only Buffy but the entire world and then had the audacity to ask for his help was going to… "You what?" He looked up at Buffy, the furrow in his brow deepening.

"I have to kill Angel." She repeated, slowly and with a little more conviction.

"Are you sure?"

"That's what the dream said. Or, Faith really…" Buffy moved her hands to her forehead, rubbing her temples. "After all the talking in riddles, she said I had to kick it off and then wham! I was staring at Angel, though personally, I think it might've been Angelus, I can't be sure and before I knew what I was doing, I was staking him and screaming Abra Kadabra or something and poof! He screamed and I screamed and there was all this screaming and then I woke up."

Her stomach flipped over and she sunk back onto the sofa as it all sunk in. Holding her head in her hands, she missed Giles' worried expression. "Are you sure this was a prophecy dream?"

"I've never been surer about anything in my entire life Giles." She glanced over at him, "That's why I need you and Willow both out of here. I'm even thinking of ways to get mom to go on holiday. She hasn't seen her sister in a while, so I'm thinking it's about time she did. With you all out of the way, he can't hurt me by hurting you. I won't let him do that again, and well… Xander's gonna need you."

Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Buffy…"

"No Giles, I need you out of the way. I mean, it all kinda falls into place now don't you think?" She looked up, "I sent him into hell when I stopped Acathla, no way should he be able to come back from that… no one should, yet he did. Even I know that there was some serious dark magic working for that. What else could explain it?"

Giles sighed, his heart going out to the woman sitting across from him. He wished he could feel some kind of sympathy for Angel's fate, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not after what he'd done to them all when he'd become Angelus. "Hogwarts has an extensive library, I'm sure Albus will allow Willow and myself access to it in order to research everything for you. I'll do what I can from there, but the moment a new Slayer arrives, I want you in England with us."

She nodded, "I'll be there, don't worry, Xander's gonna need all the help he can get." Standing up, she moved towards Giles, "I'll be back in a little bit, I'm gonna go see if I can't persuade mom to go to Michigan for a while." She smiled as Giles stood up, "Shouldn't be too hard, I got her to go to L.A. at graduation." She wrapped her arms around him in an impulsive hug, "Thanks for listening." She walked to the door, "Don't tell Willow, please? She'll wanna stay if she knows but I can't risk her getting hurt by him again." With a smile, she stepped out into the sun, looking back only once to give Giles a cheery wave before disappearing out onto the street.

Shutting the door, Giles flicked his wand and smiled sadly as a bottle of Old Ogden's appeared on his desk. Opening up the drawer in his side table, he removed the Kobliner's Codex and after pouring himself a generous helping of fire whiskey, set about checking it for any information regarding Buffy and Voldemort and Angelus.

~*~

"I cannot believe you did this! Even after I specifically asked you not to!" Half-way around the world, Remus Lupin paced and ran his hand through his hair. Shooting Sirius a look, he corrected himself, "Actually, I can believe you'd do this, but Molly! How could you when you know very well the kind of protections Dumbledore placed on the Dursley's… not to mention Lily! Of all the… the thoughtless and most…" He trailed off with a frustrated growl.

"Don't you yell at me young man," Molly looked up at Remus from over the top of her knitting. "You know as well as I do that it's a blood barrier that keeps Harry safe with those horrible muggles. The same blood that flowed through James' blood – James who died trying to save not only his wife but his child – flows through both Alexander and Harry. Couple that with the Fidelius Charm; Harry's sudden change in living circumstances will go virtually unnoticed."

"Besides, everyone knows where the Dursley's live, that trouble with the Dementors last summer proved that," Sirius looked up at Remus, "He also has no form of protection outside the blood barrier that Petunia shares with Lily and Harry. Here, he has a whole house full of more than capable wizards and witches ready and willing to defend him to the death if necessary." Sirius got up and moved closer to Remus, "He's happy Remus… did you see the smile on his face at dinner? He's where he belongs, with family… with _us_."

Remus sighed, "Dumbledore is going to be furious," he sat on the edge of the desk in the sitting room. Everyone had all drifted to parts of the house unknown; Ron and Ginny had gone with the twins to check their newest line of stock and Xander and Harry had gone to the upstairs drawing room to talk and get acquainted.

"Do you honestly think Sirius and I have spent the last ten months sitting on our backsides talking about the weather and making sure the members of the Order had food enough in their bellies?" Molly raised an eyebrow in Remus' direction.

"Contrary to popular opinion, I did pass my N.E.W.Ts Remus," Sirius smirked, "I received Outstandings for Arithmancy, Astronomy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Transfigurations, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and Magical Theory."

"I know Sirius, I was there you great git." Remus shot his friend an annoyed look.

"Well then," Molly stood up and sent her knitting needles to continue on what seemed to be a deep blue sleeve. "I believe there is no need for you to be so defensive Remus dear, Sirius and I have scoured not only the entire Black library, but Tonks also managed to get her hands on what her mother and father have accumulated over the years."

"But neither of you were aware that Alexander existed!" He was beyond annoyed now, frustration was taking over.

Sirius sighed, "We know Remus, we were actually looking for ways to hex the old hag in the hallway, to get her to be quiet, not to mention we've been looking for a sure fire way to keep Harry from returning to the Dursley's."

Molly's grin was one of victory when Remus' shoulders slumped in defeat. "Now, if you two boys will excuse me, Arthur sent an owl while you were taking Hermione to meet her parents, he isn't due home for a couple of days – business for Dumbledore – I am going to bed." She smiled as she stepped out into the hall, "Goodnight."

Sirius waited until Molly's footsteps receded before turning to face Remus, "Now… are you really mad that Harry's staying, or that we didn't include you in our little coupe?"

"I still believe that Albus will be furious when he finds out what you've done." He slumped against the desk.

"He knew we were looking for a way to keep Harry here Remus, he even suggested a few books that would help. After the Dementor attack and the hearing, even he knew that it was getting far too dangerous for Harry to keep on living with those muggles. I remembered something Harry said to me that night in the infirmary, before Albus sent me to round up the other members… Hogwarts is more his home now then the Dursleys' ever was. You and I both know that the spell worked at its best while he could call their house 'home'." He stepped up to Remus, wrapping his arms around the other man's shoulders.

"He's home now Remus, with family. James and Lily would have wanted this… you know that."

Remus nodded, "I suppose you're right, just… promise you will be more careful from now on."

"I promise to try; it's the best I can do."

Remus' arms moved of their own volition, wrapping around Sirius' waist, "It's all I can ask, but… you scared the life out of me Padfoot, if I hadn't been so relieved when we arrived in Rupert's flat, I'm sure I would have done a lot worse than Harry's punch in the jaw." He chuckled as Sirius leaned back and rubbed a hand over the smallish bruise – it had seemed almost disrespectful of Harry's anger to charm it away.

"Isabella's rage, on top of Rupert's was more than enough for all of you I'm afraid, not to mention Molly's tirade when we finally got home." He gave the werewolf a rakish smile, "Shall we head up to bed then Moony, now that you've thoroughly chastised Molly and myself?"

Remus shook his head, "We should talk first Sirius, Isabella…"

"Has a new man in her life, yes I know." Sirius smiled sadly, "She was our girl for so long and then… after my first year in Azkaban I had hoped that the two of you would settle down, form a family… be happy."

Remus shook his head, "No, I couldn't. The wolf recognises you as its mate, as much as I love Izzy; she deserves far more than just half a heart. How did you know?"

"Padfoot, when she arrived last night at Rupert's… I've no doubt she met him whilst searching for Xander. I could smell him all over her." He smiled, "I'm happy for her, though why she's holding off on telling me, I've no clue."

"She still loves you Sirius; that much is certain, but it's changed, fourteen years apart will do that to one's feelings."

"And you Moony? What of your feelings?"

"The wolf recognizes you as its mate Sirius. For all the time that I thought I could hate you for killing James and Lily, the fact that I love you dearly has never changed. I think that's what made me hate you all the more."

Sirius smiled slightly, "It's a fine line between love and hate; one spurs the other on, you know that." He chuckled and pressed his lips to Remus' forehead, "so long as Isabella is happy and stays that way, I've no objection to having you all to myself."

Remus rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's get you to bed, Rupert should be arriving in a day or two and now that your mother has been removed from the front hall – genius by the way, transferring the deed of the house to someone else, who knew that that was all it took to shut the old hag up." Gripping Sirius' hand, he led the way out of the room and up the stairs.

~*~

"Are you sure that's what it says Giles?" Buffy looked up from the pile of weapons she was sorting through.

"The Codex doesn't lie Buffy." Giles shot her an exasperated look from his position at the table.

"Okay," she lifted a broadsword up to the light, testing its weight in her hand, a quick slash in the air and she set it back in the chest before moving onto another.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I can delay my flight until…"

"No. You and Willow both need to be gone, Mom's already packed and on the road, she hardly put up an argument about travelling out to Michigan. She's gonna stop by some art galleries on her way out there, see if she can't find anything to go in the gallery here." She smiled, "You should have seen her face though when I told her I was going to England in a couple of month's time. She couldn't have been more enthusiastic, actually… I think she could have. If it weren't for the fact that I mentioned I had to wait for Faith, she'd have started packing my bags up." She held up a crossbow, testing its weight before setting it aside into a large duffle bag.

Giles watched as she set aside several wooden stakes, "Are you sure _that's_ entirely necessary?"

"I'm The Slayer, Giles. I can improvise if I have to… I get that you're gonna be hanging around with these all great and powerful Oz types – the land, not the werewolf – but Xander and Willow are gonna need all the help they can get, and if you helping them learn how to use these helps, I'm not gonna complain." She looked up, her eyes shining brightly, "Just make sure that when I come get them, they aren't covered in jelly."

Giles chuckled, "Quite." Setting aside the Codex, he pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "I've written ahead to Sirius, I'm asking him to send his hand mirror to you, that way, if I can't get the veil moved we can still keep in touch. I'm going to utilize the library at Hogwarts; try and find all that I can to help you."

Buffy slammed the lid of the trunk closed and moved to join him, placing her hand on his shoulder, she smiled down at her Watcher, "I know, but the main thing is to keep you and Xander and Willow and Harry safe until the time comes." She beamed, "Who knows, maybe when I get to England, I'll meet Prince William and I'll get to live happily ever after in a castle all my own." She smirked before dropping down into the chair beside him, "You just make sure to take care of everyone on that side and I'll look after things here."

Giles nodded, he was going to miss this. After her eighteenth birthday, they'd come to an understanding, their trust had grown deeper and for that he was grateful. "Why don't you go and call Willow and order us a pizza before you go on patrol tonight? You're more than welcome to stay, besides, my offer still stands of you staying here until it's time for you to either start college or come to England."

"I'll definitely be taking you up on that." Smiling, Buffy bounced up from the seat and made her way to the phone. She'd miss both Giles and Willow, just as much as she was already missing Xander; but she needed to do this. If she was going to save her friends, she was going to need no distractions whatsoever. Picking up the phone, she dialled the number for the local pizza parlour and bit back a sigh as Willow bounced inside.

~*~

Harry's green eyes widened behind his glasses, "and you really, truly defused a… a… bomb?"

Xander nodded, a shy smile playing about his mouth, "Yep, Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow and Oz were all battling the Hellmouth up in the library, the Furies were running around trying to kill not just me, but them as well and these – I'm not sure you could call them Zombies, because well, there was more to their repertoire then just eating brains, but they were non-dead – guys were chasing after me as well, or at least two of them were."

"And you just… pulled the plug… just like that?" Harry blew air through his teeth, "and I thought Ron, Hermione and I had had some adventures."

"From what Sirius told us yesterday after he fell through the front mirror thing in Giles' flat, I guess you guys have had your fair share of action." Xander grinned across at the younger boy. They'd been sitting up in the drawing room beneath the space that had held the Black Family tree since Remus had come home and blown his top.

"Yes but… not like you and Buffy and the others." He smiled, "The only werewolf we've ever come across is Professor Lupin, and none of us have _ever_ come across a vampire, unless you count Snape, and even then that's just speculation."

"He sounds like a real jerk… and you say he's on your side in all this?"

"He is, and Professor Dumbledore trusts him, so the rest of us trust him as well I guess. Hermione says we should be nicer to him and show him the respect he deserves but… I can't. He hates me and I hate him… pure and simple."

"Do you know why?" Xander eyed Harry slightly, he knew all about people hating him for no good reason – people back at Sunnydale hated him for no good reason.

Harry shook his head, "I just know that he, my dad, Sirius and Professor Lupin really didn't get along all too well when they were at Hogwarts. Sirius even went so far one year as to lead Snape into Professor Lupin's sanctuary while he was in wolf form… Dad saved him though, and well… he just hates them I suppose and me by default."

"Oh," Xander's brow furrowed slightly, if this guy… this Snape… was working for the Order, well, he couldn't be all that bad, but then, on the other hand, Angel had been a 'white hat' and he'd tried to have the world sucked into hell. "And you all hate this guy?"

"Well… Hermione kinda respects him; she respects all the teacher's though, even Filch."

"He's like the janitor right?" the lines in Xander's brow deepened as he tried to take in all this new information.

"Caretaker," Harry nodded. "He's a real pain too. And he's got this cat that spies on us… well, all the students really." He shuddered at the thought of Filch's unnatural attachment to the feline.

"I think the closest we've ever come to creepy animals is the time Buffy bought Giles this dead cat." Xander grimaced at the memories _that_ particular thought conjured.

"The Slayer bought her Watcher a dead cat?" now it was Harry's turn to look confused.

"Yeah," he nodded, "at the start of last year – just after school had come back – when Buffy returned from L.A. she and her mom found this dead cat in their basement."

"Wouldn't the proper thing be to bury it?" Harry scooted back on the sofa, resting against the arm.

"Well…" Xander trailed off as the door opened, to reveal a head of shaggy, red hair.

"Sorry," Ron stepped inside the drawing room. "It's just that mum says we should all get to bed. She doesn't want to go back to the Burrow without dad."

"It's cool." Xander waved the younger man further into the room.

"Al… Xander," Harry quickly corrected, "was just telling me about the dead cat The Slayer took to her Watcher."

"Wicked," Ron's eyes lit up, before he schooled his features into something much less excited. "I'll just leave you to it."

"Nah man, its cool. You can stay." Xander motioned to the couch, "You've been like a brother to Harry – from what Sirius and Remus told me… not to mention Tonks and Fred and George." Xander smiled at the look of renewed enthusiasm in Ron's eyes.

Ron moved quickly, setting himself up beside Harry.

"Anyway, you were saying?" Harry shared a grin with Ron – one that reminded Xander of when he, Jesse and Willow had been growing up and they'd found that dead bird out near Breaker's Woods.

"Right… so… this cat, they buried it," he smirked as he remembered Giles after they'd destroyed the mask. "But, what they didn't know is that, Mrs. Summers – that's Buffy's mom," Xander clarified for Ron's benefit, "had gotten this African mask from the art gallery she works at, and had hung it on her bedroom wall. Cool enough mask and everything, but it raised the dead. So, when Buffy went out the next morning to make sure none of the local strays had dug up the cat, she found the cat deader than a doornail and smelling worse than Larry's gym locker, but alive… if that makes any sense."

Ron's eyes glowed with excitement, "and she just handed it to her Watcher?"

"Well… she put it in a cage first and then gave it to Giles, who got on the research bandwagon and found out about the mask, but by that time, Sunnydale was pretty much going crazy with Zombies, all of them heading to Buffy's house where she was having this party."

"Brilliant," Ron and Harry breathed together in unison.

"At the time? No. But, now that I think about it, yeah, some of the stuff we've done has been pretty cool."

Ron's brow furrowed slightly, "Here, if this Giles bloke is your cousin, how come you don't call him by his proper name?"

Xander opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again; his brow furrowing at that. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure _why_ we call him Giles. I just know that Rupert isn't really a kinda name American teenagers can use without laughing, and Mr. Giles just sounds… too formal."

"Oh," Ron nodded thoughtfully for a moment, "kinda like the way we call William, Bill and me Ron."

"I guess, although, Buffy's the one who started calling him Giles, the rest of us just followed. Although, word to the wise – he doesn't like being called 'Big G' or 'G-Man'." Xander shrugged, "I guess the same way I don't like being called Alexander, though I could probably get used to it. I've just been called Xander for the longest time."

"Fair enough," Harry nodded, "Though I suppose when he starts teaching at Hogwarts, we'll have to refer to him as Professor Giles."

"More than likely," Xander nodded, "He's got about a million letters after his name, so… it's not like he doesn't deserve it," he furrowed his brown in concentration again, "It'll be weird… having Giles for a teacher in a strange school. I mean, Giles and School go together like… Twinkies and soda, it's a perfect match. But, I've never called him anything other than Giles before."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it," Harry smirked, "it's taken us forever to get used to calling Remus, Remus. He was an excellent Professor – probably the only decent one we'll ever have for Defence."

The door burst open and a head of red hair poked inside. "Come on you three," Molly Weasley smiled, "time for you to go to bed. We've got an early start in the morning if we're to start teaching Alexander the basic of magic before he starts at Hogwarts."

A chorus of 'Yes, Mrs. Weasley,' and 'Yes, mum' escaped the drawing room as all three young men stood up, stretched and yawned as the self appointed matriarch stepped back from the door and moved down the hallway.

"You should really wait two weeks Xander," Ron smirked and straightened his shirt.

"Why's that?"

"Cos, that's when Hermione will be back and you won't find a better teacher then Hermione Granger." Harry grinned as Ron rolled his eyes.

"Or one as strict," the lanky redhead shook his head, "you'll be in for a right treat… she'll have all your homework planned out, set times for… well… everything really." The trio stepped out into the hall, trying to keep their voices low, so as not to disturb the remaining portraits.

"Ronald Billius Weasley! Harry James Potter! Alexander Phillip Potter!" a voice floated down to them from the next floor up, "keep your voices down and get to bed!"

Ron turned green at the sound of his full name and at the annoyance in his mother's voice, Harry grinned and Xander continued to frown. "We're going mum!" Ron called back before turning to look at Harry.

"I'm pretty sure he'll still be around in two weeks Ron, Xander's not going anywhere… are you?" The-Boy-Who-Lived looked curiously at Xander.

"Most definitely not, seeing as I have no passport or Visa." He smiled, "You're pretty much stuck with me."

"See Ron? Night Xander," Harry clapped a hand on his best friend's shoulder and steered him towards their room.

"Night," Xander called out as he continued down the hall.

"Yeah… goodnight," the door shut behind Ron with a small click.

Continuing on, Xander let himself into his room and flopped onto his bed. In twenty-four hours, he'd gained a whole new family, a new name, a group of new friends, a new fortune, a house and a new life. Getting up, he stripped down and crawled into bed, that he missed Willow, Giles, Buffy, Oz and Cordelia, there was no doubt. But this was more than that… he was more than that. There was something more to him then just being the Zeppo.

~*~

Buffy twirled the stake twice before lunging forward. A quick thrust and the piece of wood was slicing through skin, muscle and bone to pierce the heart of the latest vampire – Barbara Jean Lockhart – to rise from Sunnydale's Shady Hill Cemetery. She stepped back as the once mother of John, Renee, Jean and Lucas exploded into a shower of dust. She sighed as she turned on her heel and continued on down the familiar path, down past the Alpert crypt, down past the memorial for the victims of the Sunnydale High School Massacre.

She'd called Cordelia earlier, Angel wasn't in L.A. as far as she could tell, but then again, she hadn't been looking for the tall, brooding vampire. With a promise to call should she happen upon him, the pair had said their goodbyes and hung up; Cordelia none the wiser as to what was happening in Sunnydale, and Buffy all the more certain that Angel was no longer a resident of the United States of America.


	8. New Arrivals

Xander stood in the centre of the drawing room, his wand extended in front of him. "_Wingardium Leviosa_," he gave a small flick of his wrist and watched, wide-eyed as the cushion in front of him began to rise.

"See? Nothing to it," Sirius beamed at Harry who nodded.

"We'll have you casting all kinds of jinxes in no time."

Xander looked at the two standing slightly off to his right, "And you're sure about this? I mean, how do I know you two aren't doing it for me?"

Harry rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead, "Because you saw us leave our wands downstairs?"

Xander gave him a sheepish smile as the cushion dropped to the floor with a soft 'thwap'.

"Your concentration could still use a bit of work though," Sirius smirked and moved to pick up the pillow.

"Yeah, well, Giles and Willow are arriving today; I haven't seen them in two weeks and believe me, that's almost like a life time for us." Xander took a deep breath and pointed his wand at Harry, "_Rictusempra_!" He beamed as the younger boy doubled up with laughter.

Sirius shook his head, "They did send an owl ahead, telling us that their flight had to be moved back. Otherwise Rupert would have been here by now."

"I'm just glad they're coming at all," he pointed his wand at Harry who was shooting him murderous glances between bouts of laughter, "_Finite Incantatem_. I'm not sure I'd be able to face this without them."

"Have you not used the mirror?" Harry looked up, wiping the tears from his face.

Xander shook his head, "Buffy told Giles that it was for emergencies only, and well, it's summer, so, we've got at least another six months before all hell breaks loose on the Hellmouth."

"What do you mean 'at least another six months'?" Harry stretched out on the settee, as an underage wizard, he had been made the unofficial lab rat for Xander to practice any and all jinxes, charms, curses and hexes along with their counters whilst Sirius and Remus took it in turns to teach.

"Vampire activity kinda slows down in the summer time." Xander gave a flick of his wrist and muttered _Wingardium Leviosa_ once again towards the cushion. As it started to rise from the floor, he cast a quick glance at Harry and Sirius who both nodded before continuing. "People in Sunnydale, by general consensus, don't tend to stay out too late after ten p.m. Not that they know about the Hellmouth and Vampires and demons and stuff, just… they know it's not safe and anyone caught outside, alone, in the dark where anything can just make a snack out of you." He shrugged; no one deserved the fate of becoming a vampire's next meal or a demon's next sacrifice or play thing. "We normally get about three months of minimal activity before things start building up again, then, come fall – we're looking into prophecies, checking mug shots, Giles is cross referencing like a mad man, Buffy's training and Willow, Oz, Cordelia and I are pulling Round Robins in the library to make sure we've got the right research so Giles can check the right books, so Buffy can live."

Harry watched as the pillow lazily did a circuit of the room, "Have you ever had any close calls?"

"More than any of us would like to admit," Xander let the pillow drop with a thump on the other side of the room, another flick of his wand and a muttered _Accio_ and the pillow moved a scant inch closer to him. Letting his wand fall to his side, he looked at Harry. "Buffy died once," he said, smiling slightly at the younger boy, "The first year we met, there was a prophecy saying that she would die and the Master would rise and the world would end." His smile turned into a smirk, "The writer of the book hadn't counted on Buffy having friends." He shrugged before continuing, "The Master bit Buffy and left her to drown instead of killing her outright. She drowned, but… I followed her and I gave her CPR, she came to, she kicked his ass and four months later she ground his dusty, manky bones into talcum powder."

"But she wasn't really dead." Harry's brow furrowed in confusion.

"She was dead for maybe a minute before she came back, but… that's all it takes." Xander shrugged once again and his eyes narrowed as he focused on the cushion. "_Accio_ cushion!" It lifted and moved a foot and a half before falling to the ground again. "Another Slayer was called – not that we knew – and we met her maybe six months later when we were fighting off the Order of Taraka."

Sirius stopped from where he was ratting through the display case they'd cleaned out only last summer. "You fought the Order of Taraka?"

Xander nodded, "And if I never see another worm again it will be far too soon." Sighing, Xander raised his wand and summoned the pillow once more, grinning as it flew to his outstretched hand, "Six months after that, Kendra – the second Slayer – died while we were trying to stop the world from ending. Another Slayer was called – Faith – she was okay for a while, then something happened, I'm not sure about the whole story, but she became a loose cannon," he said and shrugged, "she's in a coma now."

"You mentioned her last night," Harry said softly, his green gaze piercing the back of Xander's skull.

"Yup, she tried to kill me, Willow, Buffy and Angel. Angel, I wouldn't have minded so much, but Buffy whooped her ass and then, we saved the world. Since that day, there's been no change, although I know Buffy, Giles and Mrs. Summers check on her regularly."

"A-ha!" Sirius straightened up and waved a fist in the air, turning he gave a sheepish smile as Xander and Harry both gave him that same inscrutable look that James had given him on many an occasion back at school. "Sorry lads, I knew something was out of place last summer when we were cleaning this room." He quickly tucked whatever it was into a pocket of his trousers and made to leave the room. "Sorry to end today's lesson Xander, but I've got a few floo calls to make. We'll be leaving in a couple of hours to meet Rupert and Willow at the apparation point in the airport."

Nodding, Xander tucked his wand into his back pocket, "I'll go get their rooms ready then."

"I'll come help," Harry offered, standing up and running a hand through his unruly hair. "You can tell me more about this Faith and then I want to hear all about you using a rocket launcher." The gleam in his eyes was unmistakable, making Xander smirk.

Sirius smiled as he left the room, in the weeks since Madam Black's portrait had been removed and carted off to the attic, the occupants of twelve Grimmauld Place had taken to making as much noise as possible while going down the stairs; Sirius was no exception. Bounding into the kitchen, he reached for the pot of floo powder above the mantle and crouched down before flinging a handful on the hearth and stating, "Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore's Office."

With his eyes closed, Sirius waited until the world came to an abrupt stand still, "Albus?" His voice rang out in the empty study.

"Shouldn't you be training the newest Potter?" A snide voice drew Sirius' attention to the wall just beyond the desk.

"Grandfather," Sirius acknowledged with a curt nod of his head, "I need to speak with Albus."

"I've noticed you've removed the old bat from the entrance hall." The painting smirked down at Sirius, "Also noticed you've fixed the tapestry to include Andromeda's lot and yourself." He raised an eyebrow, "Not going to remove it are you?"

"I've repaired it as best I can. Now, where is Albus?"

Phineas folded his arms over his chest and harrumphed, "He'll be with you momentarily, seems there was a problem with some of the thestrals."

Sirius sighed and looked up at his great-great grandfather, "Can you please ask him to come see me as soon as he gets in? I've something he's been looking for."

"Very well," Phineas nodded and let his arms drop to his side, looking at the last of the Blacks. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're not dead as Dumbledore said originally."

"So am I." With a tight lipped smile, Sirius sat back on his haunches and disconnected the floo before standing up. A quick glance around the kitchen as he dusted himself off and he realized that there was still work to be done before Rupert and young Willow arrived. With a quick flick of his wand, the kitchen started to right itself; pots and pans began a lazy dance with a sponge and the mop and broom began to clean the floor. With Molly's return to the Burrow a week ago, Xander, Harry and Sirius had gotten incredibly lax when it came to house work… much to Remus' dismay.

"I'm home!"

'Speak of the devil,' Sirius thought to himself before moving quickly to greet the werewolf. "Where'd you end up going this time?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around his lover.

"Durmstrang believe it or not," Remus inhaled deeply, burying his nose in Sirius' throat. "Dumbledore wanted to see if there was a chance that Karkaroff had turned the school into a refuge for Death Eaters."

"And?"

"And nothing," he shrugged. "Seems that Karkaroff has been missing since just after the Tri-Wizard cup, the new Headmaster Klarov believes that he met with an untimely demise at the hands of the Dark Lord and has been expelling students he finds preparing to take the Dark Mark."

Pulling back, Sirius eyed his lover warily, "What aren't you telling me?"

Remus shook his head and motioned towards the stairs before heading towards the kitchen. Once there, he turned and Sirius noticed for the first time just how old his friend looked, "You sit," Sirius ordered, directing Remus toward a chair. "I'll get you some tea." He pointed his wand at the tea kettle and muttered both the water and heating charms while he gathered their cups. Sitting back down, across from him, Sirius held out a steaming cup of tea and waited until Remus had taken the first sip, "Speak."

"Do you remember the trouble between Hermione and Ron during the Tri-Wizard tournament?" At Sirius' nod, he continued, "Well, it seems Viktor Krum has, since then, taken the Dark Mark. We found his body yesterday at the gates of the school… He was dead, but it was Krum all the same."

The colour drained from Sirius' face and he had to set his teacup down as his hands began shaking, "Does Hermione… does she know?"

Remus shook his head, "No one does save for myself and Headmaster Klarov."

"Bloody hell," Sirius gave a low whistle. "Should we owl her? I'm not entirely sure her parents have the floo connected."

"No. I'll tell her when she arrives… she's due next week." Sirius watched as Remus folded in on himself. "I'm not even sure what I'm going to tell Harry and Albus. Viktor was our main concern; under Karkaroff's tutelage, the boy could have been used as a figure-head to entice others still in school. Albus was hoping we'd get there in time…" He trailed off, not needing to repeat himself.

Slowly, Sirius rose from his chair and walked around to Remus, his arms wrapping around the smaller man's shoulders. "We'll think of something, try not to worry so much about it. I'm sure Hermione will be all right." He pressed his cheek to Remus', letting his body speak volumes of the comfort he couldn't offer with words.

"It seems I have come at just the precise moment," a gentle voice came from behind them, but, whereas anyone else would have startled them, Dumbledore's presence only seemed to strengthen the tranquillity of the moment.

"The teacups are in the cupboard above the sink Headmaster." Sirius said his voice whisper soft.

"Thank you my dear boy," Dumbledore moved silently across the kitchen and sat down. "But I believe we are in need of something a little stronger if Remus' countenance is anything to go by." He produced his wand from his sleeve and conjured a bottle of fire-whiskey and some glasses. "I take it all is not well in Bulgaria." It was a statement.

"No Albus, Krum is lost to us… has been lost to us for some time." Remus gladly accepted the glass and downed its contents.

"Miss Granger will be most distressed, though I am sure Harry and Ron will help her through this sad time."

Sirius and Remus nodded before pulling apart so Sirius could sit down.

"Was there something else Albus?" Remus looked from Sirius to the Headmaster, the mid-afternoon sun making his eyes glow.

"There was," Sirius dug into his pocket and produced the locket, holding it out to the old wizard. "I believe you were hoping to stumble along this somewhere in your travels."

The twinkle - having disappeared when news of Viktor Krum's demise - reappeared with the appearance of the locket, "Splendid, splendid!" his hand reached out and closed around the silver shield. "Wherever did you find it?"

"The sideboard in the drawing room," Sirius stated softly. "We found it last summer, and I commissioned Molly and the others to throw it out. However, Kreacher stole it back from the rubbish bags. I searched high and low for it this past week and only today wondered if he may have returned it to its original place."

"Marvellous," Dumbledore beamed and tapped the front of the locket with his wand, "I do believe the curse has been disarmed, your brother had the makings of a fine Gringott's curse breaker Sirius, but the soul is still intact."

Sirius nodded a solemn expression on his face.

"How many are left Albus?" Remus looked up from the bottom of his glass.

"Three. I do believe Harry destroyed the first one with the destruction of Tom's diary, Bill Weasley is currently disarming any and all curses on the Marvolo ring as we speak and Severus is working with Isabella on finding a potion to counteract the spell binding the soul to both ring and locket."

A loud thudding echoed through the kitchen and Sirius watched as Dumbledore's beard twitched while surreptitiously slipping the locket into his robes.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry's face broke into a grin at the sight of the old man as Xander came up behind him.

"Hey Remus, Professor," Xander lifted his hand as he shoved Harry out of the way and slid into a seat opposite Remus. "The rooms for Giles and Willow are clean… or at least as clean as we can get them. Harry was just explaining to me about apparition."

"Hello Alexander, Harry." Dumbledore said softly, smiling as Harry walked past Xander and shoved his shoulder. "It is wonderful to see the two of you getting along. I trust that the spell you performed at the start of the week is still in effect?"

The four men nodded, although Sirius could see a hint of a scowl on Remus' face.

"And the lessons? I trust you are coming along Alexander?" Dumbledore's blue gaze bored into   
Xander with a fierce intensity that he had only ever assumed Giles and Buffy could do.

"I can float cushions, call cushions, tickle Harry, make him do a funky dance, glue his legs together, attempt to stick things up his nose and disarm him."

"Very good, and your other lessons?" Dumbledore eyed Sirius and Remus carefully.

"Xander's become a bit of a dab hand at Arithmancy, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Astronomy and History of Magic; I'm afraid Potions, Divination and Ancient Runes just aren't his specialty." Sirius smirked. "Yesterday we covered the Goblin Rebellion."

"Wonderful, well, see that you keep up your studies Alexander, Harry, you make sure you help wherever you can. I'm sure you can both help each other learn. Now, I must be off, there seems to be some unrest in the Forest between the Centaurs and the Thestrals. Give my regards to Rupert and young Miss Rosenberg when they arrive."

Standing up, he gripped the bottle of fire-whiskey and was portkeyed away.

"Thestrals?" Xander's brow furrowed in confusion, "They're the things you can't see because they're invisible… right?"

"Right," Harry said, "And they only become visible if you've seen someone die."

"Well then," Xander's smile brightened, "I've got no problems, I've seen enough people die, not to mention all my time around the undead."

"The graduation thing?" asked Harry as he got up and started opening cupboard doors.

"Yep, and the time at the Bronze and pretty much every apocalypse we've ever faced."

"Sounds like you've seen your fair share and then some Xander," said Remus as he swallowed the contents of his glass.

Xander nodded and caught the jelly slug Harry threw in his direction. "It hasn't all been bad, I mean, I met Buffy and Giles and Cordelia and Oz, I got to see Principle Snyder eaten by a giant snake and there was the time when we blew up the Judge with a rocket launcher I got to steal from the local military base…" He trailed off, lifting his shoulders in a half shrug.

"So, what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"We should be leaving in a couple of hours to go and meet Rupert and Willow at the apparation point at Heathrow, from there, we'll come back here by which time, Molly, Arthur and the rest of the Weasley's should be arriving and from then on, we'll resume your lessons, including Willow." Sirius took the cups and glasses over to the sink and with a tap of his wand, set about the cloth to cleaning them. Lifting his head, he looked at Xander, brow furrowed slightly, "Principal Snyder eaten by a giant snake?"

Xander nodded, "Yeah, just before Giles blew up the school Snyder was standing there ranting and raving at the giant snake, and Dick took one look at him and chomp!" Xander slashed his hand through the air in an imitation of a snake striking its prey. "All in one fell swoop." He shrugged sheepishly, "He wasn't the first principal to be eaten alive and I doubt he'll be the last."

Harry frowned, "Was it a basilisk? Because, they are nasty."

"Nope, just some super, demon thingy - Olvikan. He was going to totally annihilate Sunnydale, and from then on… who knows."

"Bloody hell," Sirius whistled, "you've definitely seen more than your fair share Xander."

"I like to think so," Xander flashed the older man a quick grin. "But, I wouldn't change it for the world… okay; there are some things I might change, but other than that, not a thing. I mean, how many people can say that they blew up their high school on graduation day?"

"I wish we had a big snake to eat up Umbridge," Harry said, propping his chin on his hand as a wistful look came over his face.

"Hermione did a good job, thinking on her feet the way she did." Remus said, and he smiled over at their young charge. "She's a brilliant young witch."

"Don't even get me started on that toad of a woman; I still haven't managed to put in a complaint about the way she treats students." Sirius groused as he came over to the table.

Harry rolled his eyes, "My hand is fine Sirius, besides; I think she got just what she deserved in the end."

"Yeah, we don't get a lot of centaurs out Sunnydale way." Xander smiled. This was good, this was family, or at least how families were supposed to be. There was no yelling, no one screaming about money or him, no having to sneak out the window just to get out and away and breathe. "How will we be getting to the airport?"

"Portkey," Remus answered, tapping his robe pocket. "Scheduled to leave in…" he glanced over at the small alarm clock sitting on the hutch, "twenty minutes. So, I suggest you do anything else that needs to be done and get ready to go."

Xander and Harry both jumped up from their chairs and hurried out of the kitchen, causing Sirius to roll his eyes.

"You'd think we kept them under house arrest the last two weeks." He shook his head and smirked.

"In all honesty Sirius, they've been to Diagon Alley twice in the last two weeks but have spent the rest of the time under your ever-watchful eye." Remus gave him a pointed look.

"Yes, well… there is a madman on the loose, not to mention my very deranged, three sickles short of a galleon cousin still on the run as well as Peter. I'm not letting either one of them out of my sight until they are safely on the train to Hogwarts in September."

Remus chuckled and stood up, "You'll end up with grey hair if you worry too much Sirius, not to mention you'll put me out of a job."

Sirius managed to look affronted at the thought of going grey, "that my dear Moony is why I got an Outstanding on my Charms N.E.W.T."

Rolling his eyes, Remus moved to Sirius' side, bending down and pressing a kiss to the other man's lips, "You should go and get cleaned up Sirius; we'll have to go to the Muggle section of Heathrow."

"Yes sir," Sirius mumbled as his hand tangled in Remus' short, cropped hair and pulled him down for another kiss.

~*~

Xander's backside connected with the cold, stoned floor of the Wizarding section of Heathrow. "Ow." He stood up, gingerly rubbing his rear end, looking around as Harry nearly collided with a small family.

"It gets easier once you get used to it," Remus said as his feet touched the floor gently.

"Sure it does," Xander grumbled as Sirius landed gracefully beside him. "So…" he began, looking around at the rough-hewn walls. "Where are we?"

"The Wizarding section of Heathrow." Sirius flashed a grin as a young woman gasped and gripped the arm of the small child she was herding towards the doors saying 'Departures', increasing her pace. "Well, what would equate to the cabbie zone."

"Right." Xander looked around, it was very reminiscent of Diagon Alley, save for the large glass doors in front of them. "So, how do we get to where we're supposed to meet Giles and Willow?"

"Follow me." Remus smiled and nudged Sirius along, "and stop scaring the people Sirius."

"I'm hardly scaring anyone Remus, just enjoying the fact that I'm a free man and that all charges have been dropped." He said this last bit rather loudly and in the direction of an elderly witch who was glaring at him balefully.

"Harry…" Remus spun around, breathing a sigh of relief as Harry looked up from a small crowd of people, offering a tiny wave.

"Well, you have fun Luna," he smiled at the young blond with bright blue eyes, "It was nice meeting you, Mr Lovegood."

"The pleasure was all mine young Potter," the portly man slapped him on the shoulder and nodded in Remus' direction, "I think your friends are waiting."

"Right, bye Luna."

"Bye Harry, I'll make sure to send you a picture of any Crumple Horned Snorkacks."

Harry nodded and rushed over to Sirius, Remus and Xander. "Sorry, Luna's father is taking her to Egypt or Romania or someplace."

"That's alright Harry… she's the girl that went with you to the Ministry isn't she?"

Harry nodded, blushing slightly.

"Right, well, Rupert and Willow are probably waiting for us at the apparation point by now, come along you three." Remus led the way inside, steering them towards a wrought iron arbour that read 'Heathrow Airport – Muggle Sector'. "Now, just step through here, and we'll go and find Rupert and Willow."

Xander warily eyed the brick wall, but shrugged once before following Remus through, Harry hot on his heels, followed by Sirius. In the two weeks, and only two trips to Diagon Alley, he still wasn't quite sure about passing through seemingly solid walls.

"We're in the bathroom…" Xander trailed off, looking around the pristine, tiled room.

"You didn't honestly think we'd be able to get away with just waltzing into the middle of a crowded airport did you?" Sirius smiled, "No, there are too many muggle gadgets, cameras and security guards and dogs these days."

"Oh." Xander looked sheepishly to the others, "so, where do we go now?"

"Through this door, and over to the arrivals lounge, from there, we'll meet Rupert and Willow and then we'll find a nice, quiet spot to apparate back home, you, Harry and Willow will all side-a-long apparate with one of us."

Xander nodded, pushing the door open, "Gotcha."

~*~

Xander bounced on the balls of his feet, his hand drifting to the left front pocket of his jeans; he could feel the thin length of oak resting against his thigh. He couldn't wait to show Willow just how much he'd learnt in the last two weeks, couldn't wait to show her and Buffy and Oz and Giles just how well he was starting off in his new life.

Harry smiled up at the older boy, "are you excited?" he asked, pushing his glasses back up on his nose.

"Can't ya tell?" Xander replied, giving a nervous chuckle, "I can't wait for Willow to meet you, or you to meet Willow, she's really good with the magic, floating pencils, re-ensouling vampires… there she is!" Xander pointed through a couple of brightly dressed tourists to the red head weaving her way through the crowd. "Willow!" Xander lifted his arms above his head and waved enthusiastically.

"Xander!" her voice floated to him and she lifted a hand to wave, turning her head slightly, she smiled at someone beside her and nodded, handing her carry-on to the man beside her before pushing through the crowd and flinging herself into Xander's arms.

He swept her up into a bear hug, spinning her around. They might have had their 'Clothes Fluke Fling' but since then, she'd become the sister he'd never had; her friendship meaning far more to him than anything else in the entire world.

"I've missed you! And Buffy and Mrs. Summers send their love and Mrs. Summers says that if you've got any rich relatives that are single, good looking and as nicely mannered as Giles, to send them her way and mom and dad said they hope you're having fun and to make sure you check out the Thames and the Tower and Westminster Abbey and if you can, can you get a picture of me standing next to those guards with the hats for Buffy… or a hat, she wasn't really specific when she asked and she said to tell you that Anya was looking for you, and then she said don't start the fun without her and she'll see you as soon as she can and that you have to be careful. Hi Sirius!"

Xander laughed and stepped back, "Hey Giles."

"Hello Xander," the older man's gaze travelled over the young man he'd come to see as his son in the last three years. He'd definitely changed since coming to England; his normally sad brown eyes seemed less sad and more alive. No doubt his life out from under the roof of Jessica and Anthony Harris was much more harmonious and caring. "Sirius, Remus," he nodded towards the other two men before turning his eyes to the youngest of the quartet.

Giles' heart leapt into his throat at the sight before him, the same messy dark hair, same glasses, same nose, same mouth, same build, same oval face… with the exception of the bright green eyes staring back at him from behind round glasses, the young man could have been James nearly twenty-five years ago. "Harry…" the name was no more than an exhalation of breath.

"You must be Harry," Willow stepped up and extended her hand, "I'm Willow, one of Xander's friends from Sunnydale, pleasure to meet you."

Xander looked at Giles over the top of Willow's head; his eyebrow rose slightly, "Please tell me that you didn't give her coffee on the plane."

"Unfortunately, I was in the coffin they call a lavatory when it came around, by the time I'd managed to navigate the locking system and the stewards and get back to my chair, she'd already started her second cup."

"And you did nothing to stop her?" Xander eyed Giles askance, arms folded over his chest.

"We were at least thirty thousand feet in the air Xander! What did you want me to do – wrestle her for the bloody cup?" Giles' voice crept up an octave.

"You could have warned the air hostesses. Threatened her with frogs…" Xander sighed and turned to Harry. "Harry, this is Willow-Hopped-Up-On-Caffeine, Willow-Hopped-Up-On-Caffeine, this is my nephew, Harry Potter."

Remus slapped Sirius in the back of the head as he choked on a laugh before turning to the new arrivals, "right, well, c'mon you lot, we need to be getting home. Hermione and the Weasleys will be there soon and I want to make sure there are plenty of bedrooms available for everyone."

"Okay!" Willow bounced slightly, accepting the carry-on bag from Giles, who was already laden down with a trolley containing their suitcases. She looped her arm through Xander's and began babbling away, pointing things out to him and exclaiming over the cabs she could see through the glass windows lining the front of the airport.

Harry watched her with great interest, she was… actually, he wasn't sure there were words to describe the ball of energy that Xander had spent the last two weeks as describing as shy, quiet, reliable, brainy to the nth degree, Willow. He could, however, feel the magic radiating off of her in waves, it was kinda like being with Hermione; she was clever, but also powerful for a witch so young; the same could be said for Willow.

"Remus," Giles reached out and tapped the other man on the shoulder, "How, exactly are we getting to… wherever it is we're going?"

"Just follow me." Remus said, voice soft, "once we get to a less crowded, less public section of the airport, I'll shrink your suitcases and we'll apparate back to Headquarters."

"Yes, but where exactly is Headquarters?" Giles reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to drown out, not just Willow's incessant prattling, but the noise of the crowded airport as well.

"Got that covered Rupert, don't you worry about that," Sirius patted the front of his muggle jacket.

"Right, well… let's keep moving shall we?" Giles forged on, Remus and Sirius to one side of the trolley, Harry, Willow and Xander to the other.

Harry smiled at Xander who was looking paler as they made their way to the apparation point, moving closer, he looked up at Giles, "Hello."

Giles looked down, his breath catching in his throat once again, "Hello, Harry."

Running a hand through his hair as they rounded a corner, the young wizard smiled, "It was a… bit of a… shock… finding out I had more family then just… Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."

Giles managed a small smile, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but…"

"It's all right, Xander's explained as much as he can, about the Council, about Buffy and Sunnydale…" He shrugged, "Perhaps… if you're not too tired… we can talk later… at home?"

"I'd very much like that," Giles grinned, "You look so much like your father… and Xander… it's uncanny really."

"Except for my eyes, I've my mother's eyes." Harry's grin was cheeky as he looked up at Giles.

"Yes, well… I take it you've heard it all a thousand times before."

"I don't mind, not really." Harry said softly, "If it means hearing things about them, stories and things. I don't mind."

"Right, I think this will do." Sirius called the group to a halt once they'd reached a quiet, hidden corner of the airport. Reaching inside his jacket, he extracted two, small slips of parchment and handed one each to Giles and Willow. "Now, you need to read these, and memorize that address, quickly."

Giles looked down at the piece of paper in his hands, his eyes widening at the address before him. He knew that address, had been there often enough as a small child. Without thinking, he tapped the parchment with his wrist and muttered a quick _Incendio_.

Willow's brow furrowed as she looked at the piece of paper, reciting the address and name over in her head a few times until she was sure she'd gotten it locked away. Handing her piece of paper back to Sirius, she watched as he held it out to Xander, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Xander?" Sirius smiled brightly as Xander slipped his wand from his pocket and focused on the piece of paper. Magic was simple enough if you knew the secret and had the proper tools.

"_Incendio_," Xander muttered, tapping the tip of his wand to the paper. It went up in a quick burst of flames before it sputtered out, leaving a fine dusting of ash coating the floor.

"Everyone ready now?" Remus asked, pushing the trolley out of the way.

"Our bags!" Willow's eyes widened with worry as she looked around for their luggage.

"In Remus' pocket, don't worry Willow, it's all under control." Xander said, patting her hand.

"Now… Xander, why don't you side-along with Rupert," Sirius started, "Harry can side-along with me and Willow can side-along with Remus," he looked up at Rupert, "I trust you remember 'Determination, Deliberation and Destination' Rupert?"

"Yes, thank you Sirius, I managed to successfully pass my test with nary a hair out of place… or a leg for that matter." Giles rolled his eyes and hooked his elbow through Xander's.

"Well, come along everyone, Molly will be furious if we arrive after them." Remus placed Willow's hand in the crook of his elbow, "Now, hold on tight, and picture home, or what you've just read, very, very clearly in your mind."

Three simultaneous shouts of surprise and loud bangs echoed off the wall and drew the attention of a wandering security guard, placing his hand on the handle of his baton, he approached possibly the only quiet corner of the airport. Shifting aside the branches of a potted palm, he grunted and walked away, nothing was there. Looking over his shoulder one last time, he relaxed his grip on his baton, "bloody kids."

~*~

Three loud bangs and four muffled 'oomph's' echoed through the front hall of Grimmauld Place. Xander shook his head to clear it and Harry took in a deep wavering breath.

"Oh God," Willow muttered, her face had turned green and she slumped against Remus.

"Deep breaths Will," Xander said, smiling. "That'll teach you for drinking the coffee."

She shot her oldest friend a glare that could have made even Cordelia quail. "I'll… be… all right." Taking a deep, calming breath, she straightened up, "Thank you, Remus."

"Don't mention it, first time apparation is hard on everyone."

"Harry! Xander!" Ginny came flying down the hall from the kitchen, long red hair streaming out behind her, "Harry, you'll never guess…" She shot Ron a glare as he came storming down the stairs.

"You'll never guess what they've gone and bloody done now." Ron scowled and shot Sirius a glare.

"Ronald Billius Weasley! If I hear you using that sort of language, I'll hex your mouth shut." The voice came from the direction of the sitting room. "Sirius, Remus," she smiled politely and held her hands out to Giles, "and Rupert Giles, it's been far too long, I'm dreadfully sorry to hear about your mother dear, she was a fine woman."

"Molly Weasley," he flashed the small woman one of his most charming grins, causing Remus and Sirius to roll their eyes. "Thank you, and thank you for taking such good care of my family."

"Oh pish-tosh," Molly flustered, "You just make sure you come home more often in future."

"Now, Alexander, I did try calling you via floo earlier to ask if it was okay by you, Dumbledore has ordered them to stay here until the start of the school year…"

"Well, if it isn't Scar-head, and here I thought you lived with muggles."

Everyone in the hall froze and turned as one to face the stairs.


	9. Family Ties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warnings for mentions of child abuse.

The tension in the hall was so thick it would have needed three slicing hexes to cut through it. Draco smirked at Harry who was glaring at Molly, who was glaring at Ron who was shooting daggers at Draco. Ginny, Remus, Sirius, Xander, Giles and Willow were all watching; breaths held as they waited for the explosion.

"What the hell is **he** doing here?" Harry pointed at Draco.

"I did try to call through the floo Harry dear, but you weren't home."

"I told you he wouldn't like it mum," Ron whined, looking at his mother pointedly as if to say 'I told you so.'

"Sirius?" a voice broke over the trio of voices, putting a halt to any impending arguments. "Sirius Black, is that you?" A blond head revealed itself at the end of the hall.

"Narcissa," Sirius' brow furrowed as his youngest cousin flew down the hall and launched herself at him.

"Sirius, oh Merlin!" she sobbed into his shirt front, "I'm so glad you're all right. They said you were dead! Bellatrix said you were dead. I didn't want to believe her, first Regulus… not you as well."

Sirius' hands drifted up towards the blond woman's shoulders, patting them hesitantly. "Can't keep a good dog down Narcissa, you know that."

Remus eyed the pair sceptically, his eyebrows rising slightly as the younger woman wrapped her arms around Sirius' waist. Reaching up, he tugged a lock of the black hair that reached just past the other man's shoulders, grabbing his attention.

Stepping back, Sirius let the woman straighten herself up before speaking again. "I'm afraid Narcissa, you've… caught us at a bad time. This is no longer the Black household; you will need to seek permission from the new owner if you are to stay here." He turned his head slightly and looked at Xander. "Xander?"

"Huh?" Xander looked from the blond woman to Sirius, to the trio of glaring teenage boys. "What's what?"

Remus sighed, rolled his eyes and stepped up beside Sirius, "Hello Narcissa."

"Remus," she smiled and nodded at the slightly older man before turning to Sirius, "what do you mean this is no longer the Black house. Of course it's the Black house, the tapestry is still hanging in the drawing room and this is twelve Grimmauld Place is it not?"

"What's the matter Potter? Can't think of something witty to say without your annoying mudblood by your side?"

"_Avis_ – _Oppugno_!"

"_Furnunculus_!"

"_Densaugeo_!"

"_Conjunctivitis_!"

Four voices rang out in the hallway, two incredibly similar, followed by a warbled cry.

"We see you've been working on -"

"Your jinxes Xander," Fred and George smirked as they came down the stairs, stepping over Draco's whimpering form.

"Yep," Xander smirked as the twins clapped him on the back. "Spent three days practicing that _Furnunculus_ charm on Harry, 'scuse me while I speak to this guy will ya?" He turned to Sirius and Remus, "Why don't you all go wait in the kitchen?"

Narcissa stared wide eyed at the dark haired American boy, "How dare you? My son!" She managed to splutter before Remus and Sirius led her down the hall to the kitchen.

"Right then, if you used -"

"_Furnunculus_, then who used _Avis_?" Fred and George stared at the small group in the hallway.

"I did," Tonks smirked up at the twins, in all the hub-bub; they hadn't heard her apparate into the front parlour. "Wotcher Xander, Harry… Weasleys."

The hall was filled with a chorus of 'Hey Tonks' before things got settled once again.

"Did you… Xander? Giles?" Willow's eyes were practically bugging out of her head. "He… I mean… and wham!"

"I think this is our cue to head on to the kitchen. Come along Willow." Giles nodded politely to the children and started dragging the red head down the corridor after Sirius and Remus.

"Wicked," Ron smiled. "'Bout time someone put the Ferret in his place."

Harry and Ginny nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well… You should probably all go and meet Giles and Willow and leave me to deal with this guy." Xander smiled at his nephew. "As 'man of the house' it's kinda my job. Besides, if this is the Draco guy I've been hearing so much about, then he and I are gonna have a little chat before I say whether or not he can stay in our house."

Ron scowled, "You're almost as bad as mum."

Xander chuckled, "Next time I ream someone, you can watch. I promise."

Ginny smiled at Xander and shook her head, "If he knows what's good for him, he'll be a good ferret from now on and you won't have to 'ream' him ever again." A muffled whimper-cum-scathing retort came from the stairs where Draco was huddled, scrubbing at his face and trying to fend off the attacking canaries while his teeth scrapped the stair he was sitting on.

Harry snickered and shot a final, threatening glare in Draco's direction, "If he gets out of hand, just yell out. I'm sure one of the twins would be happy to help fix him."

"Cousin or not, just call out and I'll help as well." Tonks smiled shyly at Xander before following the twins to the kitchen.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle this. You three go out and meet Willow and Giles and see what you can find out from Sirius and Remus. We'll be there in a minute," or twenty, Xander added silently.

Ron nodded and shot a glare at Draco that could have put Peeves in his place before leading his sister and best friend out to the kitchen, muttering all the while about ferrets and prats and how unfair it was that he was still limited by the law regarding underage wizardry.

Xander waited until the trio had finally left the hallway altogether before mounting the stairs to where Draco sat and hauling him up by the collar, batting at the birds as they flittered around his own head. It was funny, in a sick kind of way, to watch as Draco's head lolled forward with the weight of his teeth. Tugging him into the first room he came across, he sat the boy down on an unmade bed and raised his wand, smirking slightly as the blond flinched, "Relax. I'm not going to do anything to you unless you ask for it." It was a heady thing, Xander realized as he stood over the whimpering teenager – to have power over someone – and he now realized just why, Buffy had been so adamant about sticking up for him that one time back in their junior year when Larry had threatened to beat the snot out of him. "_Finite Incantantem_," the birds disappeared and Draco's teeth stopped growing, for all they still looked like they might belong to a walrus.

Sliding his wand back into the pocket of his jeans, Xander looked down at the boil covered, bleary eyed, buck-toothed blond. "I guess now is as good a time as any…" He trailed off as Draco glared up at him. "My name is Xander Potter, as in James Potter's brother, which makes me Harry's uncle. I've been here two weeks, and I've heard pretty much all Harry's had to tell me about you and, I think it's safe to say, I've fought bigger, tougher, meaner and scarier things then you." He folded his arms over his chest before continuing on. "I don't care if you've got issues, you won't speak to my family the way you just did… EVER.

"Now, I don't know why Professor Dumbledore sent you, at the moment I don't really care. If you need help, you've come to the right place. But, this is my and Harry's house, my and Harry's rules. You don't like it? There's the door, don't let it hit you on the ass on your way out." Xander tilted his head to the side as Draco continued to glare at him, "While you're in this house, you'll be as courteous as your precious little rich boy manners allow, you'll be nice to anyone and everyone that walks through that door and if I so much as hear you calling someone a 'mudblood' ever again… let's just say, I know a Vampire Slayer, a werewolf, a vampire and someone who's better at being a bitch then you will ever be. We clear on that?"

Draco's eyes narrowed slightly at being threatened, but he nodded all the same before scrubbing at his face.

"Right, well… let's go down to the kitchen; see if Mrs Weasley can't fix you up a little." Xander held out his hand to help Draco up, rolling his eyes in exasperation when the younger man stood up on his own, wobbling slightly due to the weight of his teeth.

The odd looking pair made their way back down to the kitchen, Draco marching in front of Xander as though he was being led to his own funeral.

"Mrs Weasley?" Xander smiled politely at the older woman, "I kinda… can't get rid of the boils… or the teeth." He shoved Draco in front of the older woman.

"It's all right dear; Madam Pomfrey up at the school has already had to come out three times in the last two weeks." She shot the Slytherin a glare, "Seems he doesn't know how to hold his tongue or speak in civilized circles."

An angry splutter came from the kitchen table, but was shushed by a look from Giles.

"I'll just whip him back to the Burrow and we'll call on Poppy there." Molly moved to the fireplace and reached for the jar of floo powder.

"I'll come with you Molly," Remus stood up, patting Sirius on the shoulder and nodding at Giles. "Tonks, will you stay here until we return?"

"Sure, I've got the next two days off from the Ministry, so I've… uh…" the metamorphmagus blushed slightly, "I've come to see if there's anything I can do to help around here." She flashed a quick smile at Sirius, missing the smirk shared between Molly and Remus as they stepped into the floo, holding Draco up by the arms.

"We'll be back faster then you can say Hinkypunk," Remus smiled and nodded to Molly who cast the floo powder at the hearth, "The Burrow!" In a whirl of emerald flame, the trio were gone.

Xander smiled at Tonks, "How's things at the Ministry?"

Tonks sighed and sat down, promptly missing her chair and landing on the floor. "Oomph!" Fred and George snickered and nudged each other as Xander and Sirius moved to help the young Auror up. "Boring," she smiled as she sat back down, Xander nudging her chair closer. "Shacklebolt has had me doing paperwork because, apparently, I've got too much of a vested interest in finding the Lestrange's." She rolled her eyes, "The only interest I have is locking the pair of them away for a good, long time. Relative or not, I'm pretty sure they'd have mum, dad and me _Avada_'ed before we could even so much as blink. Mum's a blood traitor and dad's a mudblood, which makes me a half-blood mongrel."

Sirius leaned across the table and grabbed Tonks' hand, "It'll be all right Tonks, this war will be over soon enough."

Tonks smiled and nodded, "Mum says the same thing… or she would if she and dad hadn't been forced to…" she shot Narcissa a furtive glance, "well, if I'd seen them lately at any rate."

"Xander?" a harsh whisper drew the younger man's attention from the purple-haired witch.

"Hmm?" Xander turned and looked at Willow, who was raising her eyebrows in a desperate attempt to get his attention. "Oh! Right… you guys have been introduced… haven't you?" He looked to Sirius once he'd cottoned on to what Willow was trying desperately to not say out loud.

"No, actually," Sirius smirked, "Molly was in the process of chastising people before you came back downstairs."

Xander grinned, "Okay then," standing up he stood beside Harry, "well, you've already met Harry and Sirius. Willow, Giles, meet the Weasleys: Fred and George, Ron and Ginny." He nodded towards the quartet of red-heads. "Weasleys, meet Rupert Giles and Willow Rosenberg, two of the Slayerettes."

Ron's eyes widened, "Blimey, you're The Watcher who blew up an entire school."

A breath of air expelled itself from Giles in a long suffering sigh, "Drastic times call for drastic measures." He shook his head after shooting Xander a half-hearted version of 'The Hairy Eyeball'. "I take it you are one of the students that helped my cousin in the Department of Mysteries. Thank you." He smiled at the gob smacked red-head.

"It wasn't anything really," Ron said after a moment of fumbling, grinning at Harry. "Harry's my mate, s'only natural."

Xander rolled his eyes, "Tonks, meet Giles and Willow. Giles, Willow, meet Tonks."

Willow, who had up until now, been making small talk with Ginny, turned her head, "Tonks?"

"Wotcher," the young witch held out her hand, "Xander's spoken a lot about you, said you can be a dead ringer for Hermione if you had the hair and the eyes."

"Her real name's -"

"One word out of you – either of you – and you'll be following Malfoy to see Madam Pomfrey."

The twins snickered once more but sat down, resolutely leaving the Auror alone.

Willow's brow deepened with confusion, "Uh, hi." She cautiously shook the other woman's hand. "I'm sorry but… I'm not sure I understand."

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Sirius rolled his eyes, "Willow, this is my cousin Nymphadora Tonks, her mother, bless her, seems to have taken it upon herself to continue the line of horribly embarrassing names the Black family have a knack for producing, so, instead of shortening it to something like 'Dora' or 'Nymph', she prefers to be called Tonks."

"Oh!" Understanding spread across the young woman's face, "Kinda like how we call Oz, Oz instead of Daniel and Xander, Xander instead of Alexander or Alex."

"Got it in one," Tonks smiled. "Xander's said you can do wandless magic, but you've never been taught or gone to a proper school of witchcraft and wizardry. I only know four other people who can do that, Mad-Eye, Dumbledore, Remus and Professor Snape." She smiled, "You must be well chuffed at that."

Willow blushed to the roots of her hair, "I… well… I practiced a lot. It's all about emotional control. I… I haven't really gotten all that much control yet, but… Giles says it'll get better with time and experience."

Narcissa had remained quiet for some time, until the conversation had dwindled down to nothing but handshakes and murmured introductions. "Your mother is Andromeda Black?" She looked at the young girl who was currently turning her hair the same shade of red as Willow's in an attempt to show the other woman just what a metamorphmagus was.

Looking up, Tonks' now green eyes flashed, "No. My mother is Andromeda Tonks, wife of Theodore Tonks."

"But her maiden name is Black, is it not?" Narcissa's hands gripped the edge of the rough-hewn table.

"Not that you have cared in the past Mrs Malfoy, but yes, it was Black; for all the good that did her." Tonks' eyes had become a shade of blue Sirius had only ever seen on one person before. A flick of her head and the short red locks became long waves of raven. She was the perfect image of her mother at the age of nearly twenty.

Fred, or George – he couldn't be quite sure – let out a low whistle before speaking up. "Right, well, we'll just… go and get Willow and Mr Giles settled."

"Yeah, c'mon you lot." George nudged Ginny, who nudged Ron who grabbed Harry's elbow, pulling him out the door.

"Tonks?" Xander looked to the young witch, amazed at how much like Sirius she looked.

"I'll be all right Xander."

He looked to Sirius who nodded, silently watching the exchange between his cousins.

"Alrighty then, Willow, Giles, I'll show you where you're sleeping." He stood up from the table and placed his hand on Tonks' shoulder in silent support. In the two weeks since he'd arrived, she'd become an almost permanent fixture around the house and a valued friend. The fact that he had a budding crush on the young Auror, only added to the need to protect her from the blond woman.

Looking up, Tonks flashed him a warm smile, "I'll teach you how to throw that _Avis_-_Oppugno_ curse later."

Nodding, Xander ushered Willow and Giles from the room once Tonks had gone back to glaring at her Aunt.

Once the troupe had made it to the first floor landing, Willow turned and looked at Xander, "Are they gonna be okay?"

He shrugged, "Not sure, Harry'd be the one to ask… or Remus or Sirius."

"Okay."

Xander beamed, "Okay, now…" He looked at Giles and Willow as he led them up to the second floor, "this isn't exactly the Hilton, but it's better then the Sunnydale Motor Inn and the company is a hell of a lot better then Paris and Nicole, but… don't annoy the cat-thing, try not to worry about the scratching noises coming from upstairs and if you need your mirror charmed to shut up, let me know… I've gotten really good at that." Xander grinned and held open a door, "this is your room Willow. Tonks is on your right – when she's here, Hermione and Ginny are on your left, Ron and Harry are across the hall and to your left, I'm down the hall to the right and Fred and George are directly across from you."

"Thanks… I…" her brow furrowed slightly. "My bags…"

"Remus still has them I believe," Giles smiled softly.

"Right, well…" She looked around, their group had dwindled somewhat to just the twins, Giles and Xander.

"I'll show you the library and drawing room and the rest of the house in just a moment," Xander turned to Giles. "Alright G-Man, your room is next floor up with the rest of the grown-ups." He smirked as Giles frowned at the ill begotten nickname.

"Thank you, Xander."

"Don't mention it." Xander moved towards the back of the hall when he realized Fred and George were standing at the top of the first landing, bits of flesh-colored skin dangling from their ears. "Uh… Excuse me a minute." He smiled at Giles and moved towards the pair. "Guys… give it a rest." He tugged the string from their ears and pocketed them.

Fred's eyes widened, "You didn't!"

"He most certainly did!" George's face was a study in bewilderment.

"Sorry, but, I think Tonks needs some space to face that woman without us all listening in." He smiled, "Besides, she'll probably come out and tell us all about it anyway." He smirked and turned back around, only to be faced with a very confused Willow. "Um… Extendable Ears, an invention from the brilliant minds of Weasley and Weasley," he indicated the twins. "Actually, can you two show Willow the library? I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a while, I need to talk to Giles for a bit."

"Sure,"

"No worries, right this way." Fred and George stepped to either side of the hall and indicated Willow should follow.

When they had disappeared down the stairs, Xander made his way back to Giles, a sheepish smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Right, showing you to your room." Leading the way up the stairs, and onto the next floor, Xander ushered Giles into his room. "I should probably leave you to rest or something but… I think we need to talk."

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded slowly, "Yes, come in."

Xander watched as Giles took his suitcases out of his pocket and his wand from the hidden sheath inside the wrist of his jacket. Looking closely, he studied the older man's wand movements. Two weeks with Sirius and Remus and occasionally Isabella, had him focusing intently on the way they wielded their wands. It was fluid, almost in the same notion as the way Buffy wielded a sword, axe or her stake; as though the wand was a natural extension of the person it belonged to and not an object to focus your energies through.

"Xander, I wish to… to apologise," Giles began. "I truly had no idea who you were when I first met you." He looked at the younger man as the last of his belongings settled themselves in drawers and his trunk shrunk back to the size of a small jewellery box and tucked itself away with his socks.

Xander held up his hand, "Don't," he looked to the man who'd come to mean much more to him then librarian and friend over the last three years. "The stuff… before… that doesn't matter. What made me… angry… was you wanting to keep it from me." He looked at Giles, "I'm not the Slayer, Giles. You don't get to control my life the way the council tries to control Buffy's. We saw how that worked out for Kendra and Faith," he smirked, and started to pace. "You know what it was like for me, being a Harris, living in that house, with those… with them." He shook his head, "Towards the end of junior year, before all that stuff with Jenny and Angelus… you were helping to patch me up more often then Willow." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before stopping and looking at the other man, his cousin. "How could you want me to stay there, when you knew how much I wanted to get out?"

"Xander," Giles started, then stopped. Taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm his mind. "It's not that I wanted you to stay," he lifted his head, "far from it," he sat down on the bed and looked at Xander, "when Isabella told Sirius and I who you were, I was… shocked to say the least. I finally had my younger cousin back, only to have Albus show up and explain that, whilst I had just had some rather good news, he was here to tell me and you that you would have no time to get used to such an adjustment, but that you were coming back here to fight a war that isn't yours to fight."

"I fight alongside Buffy and you and Willow and Oz every night. I fight vampires and demons and ex-boyfriends and friends and class mates and, I get turned into Military guy and break into army bases so we can blow up demons," he looked to Giles, "I've led an army of students, none of them with Buffy's strength or Willow's genius or Oz's ability to come up with a stoic quip at the right moment. All of them like me. Not even worthy of being a blip on the Scooby Gang radar, yet, they were there. I was there.

"This war is as much mine as the one in Sunnydale is." He stood beside Giles; hand on the older man's shoulders. "Here though? Here I get a chance to stand out and stand up. Harry's my family… our family. I'd fight this if it were Buffy getting ready for the fight of her life, why can't I fight for my nephew as well?"

"I just want you to be certain Xander," Giles looked at the younger man, "This isn't some Vampire you can dust by ramming a piece of wood into it's chest, these are real wizards and witches, with real power and real spells. Some of them far more powerful then anything you've ever seen."

"But Willow - " Xander began before being cut off by the man in front of him.

"What Willow does will look like mere party tricks at a child's birthday compared to what you will have to face in this war." Giles snapped. It wasn't that he didn't want Xander to not have this chance, more that he wanted him to be sure. This wasn't something one could just walk away from when they decided they'd had enough. Magic, once you'd learned how to wield it, became a part of your very soul. It was something he had learned after Randal had died, and something Willow was slowly coming to learn.

Xander looked down at his shoes, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck as he took a moment to think this all through. Taking a deep breath, he looked up, demanding that he be taken seriously in this conversation with a flash of his eyes. "I want to do this Giles, I want to be a part of this. And whether or not you like it, I already am. That… thing calling himself Lord Voldemort killed my brother, your cousin, Harry's dad. And, if nothing else, Harry deserves our help, because isn't that what we do?"

Giles looked at Xander, his eyes widening slightly as he truly saw the young man before him. "Then you will go into this battle well prepared and with your family by your side." He moved and pulled his cousin into a hug. Three weeks ago, Xander had still been the group clown, the one they all looked to for comic relief; he had still been a child, and now… Giles stepped back, "Just so you are clear on that one thing, we will start training two days from now, once Willow gets a wand."

"I understand Giles," Xander stood up to leave, "more then you know." He smiled as he looked at Giles, "This… Helping my family… is what I do, the only difference now is that I do more then just get the donuts." Turning, he made his way to the door. "Mrs Weasley will probably call when dinner's ready, until then, feel free to explore or relax." He started to pull the door closed before popping his head back inside the room "OH! And wait until you spend some time with Harry, he's a pretty neat kid. We've got a lot in common, and it's nice… having family outside of you, Buffy, Willow and Oz."


	10. Ya Gotta Have Faith

Buffy stretched as she stepped through the double doors, taking a deep breath of the fresh night air. She loathed hospitals; had loathed them since the day Celia had been murdered right in front of her by that invisible boogie man. She looked back through the small portal that showed the reception of Sunnydale General; a single clerk on duty, sitting across from the security guard that had let her out. Shaking her head, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks the Council – with the help of Giles and Dumbledore – had made it so that Faith was, officially, Faith Summers. She was now and would always be; Buffy's sister in more ways than just their Slayer Calling. Now, the Hospital would contact Buffy and her mom should anything happen, should anything change. Looking back one last time, Buffy shuddered before heading back out onto the streets; she'd make one last sweep before heading home for the night to rest.

She'd been having the same twisted dream for weeks now, always the same result; Angel turning into a big pile of dust, the screams of others echoing around her. Last night had been slightly different though, Faith had gotten even more cryptic. Gone on forever about Pink and Red, tearing out the heart and leaving the spirit in tatters… Buffy winced and shook her head to clear it. The more she thought about it, the more it felt as though she was getting a migraine. She'd called L.A several more times in the month that Giles and Willow had been gone, and Cordelia had still seen no sign of Angel. She'd even put in a call to Anne, asked her to keep an eye out, but no such luck. She'd spoken to Giles about it the few times he'd called, but other than that, it was just a waiting game. Waiting until Faith got better and could be relied on to look after the Hellmouth, or another could take her place.

Another sweep of Peaceful Meadows, Fair Haven, Evergreen Forest and Revello Street cemeteries and Buffy was ready to call it a night, crawl into bed and sleep away the better part of the hot July day. The night was muggy, and what little breeze there had been when she had first left the hospital, by the time she got home, was non-existent. Her mother had been gone a little longer then Giles and Willow; she'd already written about a new deal with the gallery and several other small galleries across the country. It meant she would be gone from Sunnydale longer than planned which suited Buffy just fine, so long as she was out of harm's way when everything came to a head, it didn't matter if Joyce was in Michigan or Guam, so long as she was nowhere near the Hellmouth once Buffy left.

Buffy stepped out of the shower and made her way to her room, her entire body still on alert… just in case. Propping her bedroom door open, she slipped into her pyjamas and got ready for bed. She'd already triple checked all the windows when she got home. Vampires might not be able to get in uninvited, but there were plenty of other things that could just walk, slither or crawl right in.

"Buffy Summers," came a voice, somewhat muffled, from her left.

Stretching out, Buffy flicked on her lamp and grabbed the small hand mirror that she kept beside her bed.

"Checking up on me Giles?" She teased, brushing damp hair out of her eyes.

"It's my job," the familiar lop-sided smile appeared on his face and Buffy felt her heart flip at being able to see her Watcher. "I wanted to see how both you and Faith are doing," he began, green eyes sparkling, "and to pass on some news I think may interest you."

"Faith is… the same. Getting weaker it seems, in the dreams at any rate, but the hospital says no change." Her smile grew at the prospect of news. "Did you marry Willow off?" She made a clucking noise with her tongue, "Giles how could you?"

"Very funny," Giles rolled his eyes and tilted the mirror slightly, "Willow," he called over his shoulder and the redhead popped into range, waving before burying her head back in the stack of books she was currently focused on. "She's researching Dark Wizards," he smiled and came back into focus once again. "I've actually gotten some information on the new Watcher," Giles' grin grew. "You'll be meeting him sometime in the next few days, I've already spoken to him and he's quite looking forward to working alongside you."

"Who is he?" Buffy raised her eyebrow slightly; the look on Giles' face was enough to make her want to crawl under the bed and hide until it was all over.

"You'll see," Giles smiled softly.

"Gi-ules," Buffy whined, pouting slightly.

"No, sorry, I'm afraid that won't work with me today Buffy." He chuckled softly and shook his head.

She quickly stuck her tongue out at him before smiling, "How is everyone? I got Xander's owl this morning. I think my neighbour may have seen it." Off his look, she continued on in a rush, "Well, it was too hot to sit inside this morning so I took my breakfast out onto the front patio and that's where it found me." She smiled sweetly. "If it means anything, I think they were so shocked at seeing it, they walked into their garage door?"

Giles shook his head, "The world is doomed."

"Hey!" Buffy laughed, "I think I do alright," she stopped and looked at the man that had come to mean so much to her in such a short time.

"You do a wonderful job, Buffy." His smile softened and he seemed to relax. "How has your summer been so far?" He missed her, missed having her burst through his living room after patrol, burning off the last of her energy before going home.

"Kinda boring actually," she looked out the window, screwing her nose up at the stillness of the tree outside. "Hot, hotter than normal actually, Vamp activity is down as per usual for this time of year, and I've only had a few new demons to deal with. Willy's been really helpful though," she smirked, "he gives me any information I want, so long as I promise not to beat the crap outta him."

"Buffy…" Giles pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, what can I say? It's a deal that works for both of us." She smiled. "Anyway Giles, I need to get my beauty sleep," she stifled a yawn. "Let Willow know that there are some letters heading her way via that Owl, and tell Xander he'll get his chance for a one-on-one session when I get there. Stay safe Giles and I'll see you soon?" She looked at him expectantly.

"I will be sure to let everyone know," he smiled into the face of the young woman he was gazing at. "Be careful Buffy and yes, I will see you soon, of that I'm sure." He smiled, "Goodnight."

"Night Giles," Buffy yawned, already snuggling onto her bed and into her pillows. "Miss you…" she said as she lowered the mirror and switched off the light.

"I miss you too," Giles said softly, tapping his wand against the rim of his small mirror and ending the connection.

~*~

"She seemed enthusiastic," Willow began, looking up from her place at the long library table.

"A little too enthusiastic," Giles agreed before smirking, "Oh to be a fly on the wall within the next few days…" he trailed off, chuckling a little.

"Do you think she'll willingly let Wesley be in charge of another Slayer?" Willow folded her hands in front of her, resting her chin on them.

"It's not just Wesley I'm sending," Giles walked over and touched Willow's shoulder gently, knowing exactly what had given the young Witch cause to worry. "Albus has hand-picked the small team of Watchers to travel to Sunnydale, each of them members of the Order." He rolled his wand between his fingers as he moved to the other side of the table. "Trust me, Wesley and Buffy will get along this time, Isabella will be one of those going with him."

"Oh," Willow's smile brightened, "that makes me a lot more comfortable," she snickered softly, "last thing we need is an Owl telling us Buffy has killed Wesley."

"Hmm," Giles agreed before giving Willow his full and undivided attention. "I think that about covers it for today Willow." He motioned to the books, "Xander and the others should all be waiting for me; don't forget that you've got an extra lesson with Minerva."

Willow nodded and gently closed the book she was looking through before standing up and moving towards the fire place. "I'm already there," she lifted a handful of floo powder and smiled at Giles, "See you later Giles, Transfigurations Classroom!" she cast the floo powder to the hearth and in a swirl of green light and red hair, was gone. Stumbling out at her destination, she landed on her backside, giggling and coughing up soot. "Evening Professor McGonagall." She pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at the stern looking witch.

"Miss Rosenberg," the professor smiled over the rims of her glasses before motioning to the lone desk in front of her. "Mr Potter has finished for the day, he is coming along splendidly, but you my dear, while your enthusiasm is apparent, we still have a great deal of work to do if you're going to be of any help to your friends in the coming months."

"Yes ma'am," Willow nodded, taking her seat. "I want to get this right, absolutely perfectly right."

"Very well, shall we begin?" Another nod from Willow and McGonagall flicked her wand toward the board, enlarging it before another flick had words slowly and steadily appear. "Now…"

~*~

Buffy rolled over, her legs tangled in the sheets; sweat beading on her furrowed brow. She was so confused; everyone just kept talking in circles, silly things, things that she couldn't control…

_"Ya know, when I became the Slayer, I was like, 'This is IT. I'm finally gonna be someone special.'" She smiled grimly, "Diana was all… well, you know the speech, how many times you heard it now?"_

"Too many," Buffy murmured, "One girl in all the world -"

"A Chosen One, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil -"

"Blah, blah, blah." Buffy turned and smiled at Faith, "Merrick used to stand there and drill it into me, I think Giles only managed to get the full speech out once or twice. Wes had no chance."

"Yeah, but, we didn't give him one. Not really." Faith sat on the edge of the brick balcony, legs dangling over the side. "After Diana…" she stopped, her throat closing at the words. "I'm dyin" B."

"Nah," Buffy smiled, "Just… really sleepy," she nodded, more to convince herself then the other Slayer.

"I welcomed it, ya know?" She quirked an eyebrow in Buffy's direction, "when Diana first came to me, I was twelve years old, my mom was happy to be rid of me. I'm pretty sure I'd have been willingly handed over for a pack of Luckies and a bottle of scotch."

Buffy's shoulders slumped slightly; in all the time she'd known Faith, her 'Pre-Slayer Life' hadn't been high on their list of Get To Know You questions. "Yeah, but Diana…" She was cut off by the younger woman.

"She was amazing," Faith's face lit up, "I mean, at first, I was a real problem child; we started training and I did everything I could to screw it up. I was even wilder than when I arrived in Sunnydale, but Diana? She was so patient, just like your mom was with you, no matter what I'd done; she'd patch me up and try all over again. She never once raised her voice at me, though, I'm sure she wanted to; sure she wanted to throttle me, ya know?" She looked to Buffy and smirked, "She actually talked to me, listened to me… I remember, this one night, just before the whole thing with Kakistos; I had this nightmare about my life Pre-Slayer, it was all dark and hot and heavy, and I remember, when I finally woke up, she was just sitting there, holding me in her arms and brushing my hair back.

"I didn't find out until later that I'd accidentally broken two of her ribs, thrashing about." Faith's eyes seemed to glitter with unshed tears as she thought about her first Watcher.

"How'd you find out?" Buffy's heart went out to the younger girl; she had so much potential to be one of the great Slayers.

"I busted her wrapping them up in the bathroom a couple hours later. I think that was the moment I stopped fighting her, started working with her," her smile turned sad, "a couple of weeks later; Kakistos kidnapped her, tortured her, raped her and then killed her." She shuddered at the memory. "There were things he did to her, that no one, not even a Slayer, should see." She reached over and slugged Buffy in the shoulder, "Next time you're with Giles, ask him if you can check out her diaries, I gave them all to him, I'm pretty sure you'll get a good laugh out of them."

Buffy smiled at Faith, "We should compare notes," a tiny gasp escaped her lips as Faith's image started to fade in and out. "Faith?"

The dark haired Slayer grinned, a mirthless laugh escaping her lips, "Guess that's my cue."

"Huh?" Buffy reached up and covered her ears as a high-pitched buzzing crept into the dreamscape. "Cue? Are there gonna be dancing chickens? Faith?"

"Stay cool B," Faith grinned.

"Faith, what's going on?" Buffy's voice grew panicked, "Are you okay?"

"Five by five." She giggled as her image grew ever more distant. "Oh, and B?" she looked to the other girl, her brown eyes sparkling, "answer the damn phone."

Before Buffy could even begin to contemplate what the hell was going on, Faith had all but disappeared, leaving Buffy in a sepia-toned room, devoid of anything, the buzzing noise becoming more insistent. Looking around, calling out for the other Slayer, Buffy felt her blood freeze in her veins; the room seemed to be shrinking, as though the air was being sucked out. The buzzing grew louder and louder, and Buffy turned aimlessly in the sepia-toned room, looking for its source, looking for Faith. Coming to a stop in the middle of the room, her eyes welling with tears, she was about to give up when the room suddenly flashed green.

"BUFFY!" Faith's voice echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls.

Buffy awoke with a gasp and reached for the mirror on her bedside table, ignoring the ringing of the telephone. "Rupert Giles," she muttered into the reflective surface, ignoring the tangled mess that was her hair.

"Buffy? What is it? What's wrong?" Giles" voice floated to her before his face came into view.

"It's Faith," She reached over and flicked on her lamp, blinking as light flooded the room. "I need you here, something's not right."

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Giles looked up from the mirror to something she couldn't see. "Go answer the phone and I should be there by the morning."

Buffy nodded, her heart pounding in her chest. She was actually surprised that Giles didn't comment on the thudding sound. Setting the mirror down as Giles ended the connection, Buffy picked up the telephone.

"Miss Summers?" A voice came over the line.

"Y-yes."

"We need you to come down to Sunnydale General -" the phone went dead in the nurse's hand.

Buffy didn't even need to hear the end of the conversation. Dropping the phone back in the cradle, she threw on a pair of sweat pants and slipped into her running shoes. Silently, she made her way out of the house and into the street where she broke into a run, heading for the hospital.

~*~

"Giles?" Xander took the mirror from the older man's hand and set it aside. He'd only seen this look on his face twice before; when a call had come through the summer before, asking him to fly to New York and identify the body of a young woman that matched Buffy's description and when Angel's return had been made known.

"I've got to go," he said absent-mindedly, standing up from the desk in the library at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, looking up from one of Hermione's past assignments.

Xander shook his head and shrugged, "not too sure, I think something's happened in Sunnydale."

"It's, uh, Faith," Giles said, snapping out of it. He looked at Xander, "something's not right. Buffy needs me there," he took a deep breath, taking his glasses from his face, he started to clean them. "I'll be gone two days, perhaps not even that long -"

"Go," said Xander, cutting him off. "I'll explain to Willow and the others, just… you go, help Buffy."

Nodding, Giles moved to the centre of the room. "I'll organize an emergency portkey with the ministry." A moment later, a resounding crack and Giles had apparated from the room, leaving behind a very confused Harry and an extremely worried Xander.

"We need to find Dumbledore and Willow," Xander looked towards his nephew, "Willow's with Professor McGonagall, I'll get her, if you can check with Phineas for Dumbledore?" At Harry's nod, Xander continued, "Meet back here in half an hour?" He headed towards the heart, grabbing a fistful of floo powder.

"Right, half an hour," Harry nodded and made his way to Phineas' portrait in his and Ron's room.

~*~

The hospital doors burst open and it was only at the last minute that Buffy remembered to reign in her strength. Each step that bought her closer to Faith, felt like someone had put her chest in a vice and was tightening it, inch by inch. Pushing past a group of young interns, Buffy made her way to the doors to Faith's room. She stopped outside the door, something didn't feel right; her Slayer senses were going insane. Something was off on the other side of the door; taking a deep breath, she swung open the door, wishing she'd bought along more than just her trusty stake.

"Buffy!" Faith was backed up into the far corner of the hospital room, her face pale and almost waxy looking.

"Faith?" Buffy stepped into the bedroom, her entire body ready to spring into action.

"How nice…" a smooth, unfamiliar voice announced itself from behind the blond slayer, "two Slayers for the price of one."

Spinning, her whole body poised to attack, Buffy glared at the stranger, "Who the hell are you?"

"Buffy…" Faith groaned.

The man in the corner sighed and with two loud cracks, disappeared and reappeared near Faith. "As nice as it would be to sit here and chat, all will be revealed in due time." His grin sent shivers down Buffy's spine. Watching him closely, Buffy tried to inch closer, anything to get to Faith before he could do anything to the younger Slayer.

"What have you done to her?" Buffy asked, her gaze flicking between the man and Faith.

"Nothing except perhaps save her life." The man wrapped his right arm around Faith's shoulders, a thin length of wood aimed in Buffy's direction. "She will be safe, I assure you."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at that, "Just because I'm blond, does not mean I was born yesterday. Tell me who you are and I won't show you what I can do with my length of wood." Even Faith's eyes lit up a little at that. "Okay, so that didn't come out quite like it should, but you get my drift."

The man sighed, his hand slipping into his long dark cloak, "I am afraid that's just not possible. _Petrificus Totalus_!" He flicked his wand at Buffy, watching as she froze and fell backwards.

"Buffy!" Faith called again, though in her weakened state, she was no match for the tall man that had her in his grip.

Rolling his eyes, he tapped his wand to the younger girl's chest, "_Immobulus_," pulling his hand from his dark cloak; he muttered his apologies to both prone bodies before slipping a ribbon around his hand and touching it to Faith's shoulder.

Buffy watched from her position on the floor, her mind racing as she tried to fight the spell. She heard the man's apologies but couldn't and wouldn't stop the anger that made her blood boil. She screamed inside her head as they disappeared in a swirl of colours that she'd come to associate with Xander's departure from Sunnydale.


End file.
